"A chance to captain properly" - Shadab Khan calls for continuity of leadership in Pakistan cricket post reports to remove Shaheen Afridi as captain
Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan has called for continuity in the side's captaincy to achieve better results after swirling reports on Shaheen Afridi's role as T20I skipper being in jeopardy.
Afridi took over as Pakistan's T20I captain in November last year after Babar Azam stepped down. The ace pacer has led the side in the lone series against New Zealand, where the Men in Green suffered a 1-4 defeat.
Following that, the Afridi-led Lahore Qalandars suffered a last-place finish in the ongoing 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), winning only one of their 10 games.
Speaking at the post-match press conference after Islamabad United's win to advance to the grand final, their skipper Shadab Khan opened up on the complexities in Pakistan's captaincy.
"Even now, look, we've given Shaheen a series, and we're contemplating changing his captaincy. It shouldn't be like this because in the long term, one should be given a chance to captain properly according to his process, and his method. Because we want to experiment, win series as well, which could lead to issues," said Shadab.
Afridi's appointment as T20I skipper came on the back of his leading the Qalandars to back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023.
Pakistan's next T20I assignment is a five-match home series against New Zealand starting 18 April, followed by four T20Is against England starting 22 May before the World Cup in June.
"Whenever you bring someone in, things can't change immediately" - Shadab Khan
Shadab Khan also requested adequate time for a new captain, allowing him to fail and incorporate learnings rather than looking for immediate results.
Before Afridi's appointment, Babar Azam led the T20I side with much success, winning 42 of his 71 games at the helm. He also led the side to the semi-final and final of the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups respectively.
"Whenever you bring someone in, things can't change immediately. It takes time. We want many things to change immediately, but that's not how it works; it's a process. In this process, there are mostly failures in the beginning, and it's important to see how we accept those failures," said Shadab.
"A captain has his own thought process, and right now, it's unclear because of discussions about changing the captain after just one series. With the World Cup, I think we need to identify players for the long run so that by the time we reach the World Cup, our issues are resolved," he added.
Pakistan will start their 2024 T20 World Cup campaign against co-hosts USA in Dallas on June 6.
The marquee India-Pakistan outing will be three days later in New York on June 9.