The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed fast-bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi as the new one-day international captain, ending Mohammad Rizwan’s short stint in the role. The switch was confirmed on Monday evening, only hours after both men had taken the field in the Rawalpindi Test against South Africa.
In a brief media release the PCB said the change followed “a constructive meeting in Islamabad involving the selection committee and white-ball head coach Mike Hesson”. No explanation for Rizwan’s removal was offered, nor was the wicketkeeper-batter’s name mentioned in the statement.
Rizwan’s position had looked increasingly fragile once the board stopped short of backing him in a weekend press note. At the time, chairman Mohsin Naqvi signalled a review, asking Hesson and the advisory panel to “recommend the most suitable leader for the ODI side”.
Those talks have now produced Afridi, who turns 26 next April and remains one of the game’s premier left-arm quicks. His previous taste of white-ball captaincy ended abruptly: entrusted with the T20 side for the New Zealand tour in January 2024, he oversaw a 4-1 defeat before being replaced by Babar Azam less than a fortnight later.
Afridi accepted today’s call with customary brevity, telling PCB media staff: “Captaining Pakistan is always an honour. My focus is to help the team play positive, fearless cricket.” Hesson offered a supportive note of his own, adding: “Shaheen’s tactical awareness and natural authority make him a strong candidate for ODI leadership.”
Why move on from Rizwan? Close observers point to the board’s preference for a fresh voice ahead of next year’s Champions Trophy at home, a tournament Pakistan believe they can win. Others whisper about the inevitable strain of juggling the gloves, the top order and captaincy across formats. A senior official, speaking anonymously, put it more bluntly: “We felt the team needed a bowler-captain who understands conditions from a different angle.”
For now, Pakistan persist with three separate skippers: Babar in Tests, Afridi in ODIs and (for the moment) Rizwan in T20Is. Whether that trident survives the next cycle remains to be seen, but the PCB has once again shown it is not shy of reshuffling the deck when results – or perceptions – fall short of expectations.