The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday confirmed the appointment of Shaheen Shah Afridi as the new ODI captain, replacing Mohammad Rizwan.
This change in captaincy comes in the wake of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027. A series of defeats forced the board to relieve Rizwan of his role. In the Champions Trophy, Rizwan-led Pakistan failed to win a single match and finished at the bottom of Group A. Despite the poor performance, Rizwan retained the captaincy for the series against New Zealand and the West Indies, both of which Pakistan lost.
The decision to appoint Shaheen was made during a meeting held in Islamabad. White-ball head coach Mike Hesson, Director of High Performance Aqib Javed, and members of the selection committee were present at the meeting.
“Shaheen’s appointment for the upcoming series was finalised today following a meeting held in Islamabad, which was attended by white-ball head coach Mike Hesson, Director High Performance Aqib Javed and members of the selection committee,” a short media release by the PCB stated.
During his short stint as captain, Rizwan led the team to away series wins in South Africa, Australia, and Zimbabwe in the early days of his tenure last year. Despite that, the wicketkeeper-batter finished with a win percentage of 45.
This will be Shaheen’s second stint as Pakistan captain. Earlier, at the start of last year, he was named T20I captain but was removed from the role after just one series — which Pakistan lost — as Babar Azam was reinstated as captain for the T20 World Cup.
Shaheen’s first assignment as Pakistan’s ODI captain will be the upcoming three-match home series against South Africa, scheduled to take place in Faisalabad from 4 to 8 November. The PCB will announce the squad in the coming days.
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