After Pakistan’s disastrous World Cup 2023 campaign, there was intense pressure on 29-year-old Babar Azam to step aside as captain of both forms on November 15. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) then named Shan Masood the captain of the Test team and Shaheen Afridi the captain of the Twenty20 Internationals.
The position of Pakistan’s ODI captain is still open, and the PCB will take its time choosing a new captain because the Men in Green’s next one-day encounter is scheduled for November 2024 in Australia. Following Babar’s resignation, a few people are front-runners to take over as captain.
The three players vying for Pakistan’s ODI captaincy are as follows:
1. Fakhar Zaman
Since June 2017, Fakhar Zaman has participated in 82 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) for his team, amassing 3492 runs with 11 tons and 16 fifties. The southpaw’s 210-run innings against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club make him the only ODI cricket legend to achieve two hundred and fifty runs.
The 33-year-old’s international experience may have given the Pakistani team management reason to trust him in the major role. In the competition’s five games from 2019, Fakhar guided Lahore Qalandars of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) to just one victory and four losses. While his record as a captain isn’t great, the PCB may take notice of his experience and batting credentials.
2. Shaheen Afridi
During Pakistan’s miserable World Cup campaign, Shaheen Afridi claimed 18 wickets in nine matches with an economy of 5.93, but he was criticized for not living up to expectations, particularly during the powerplay. The speedster has been named Pakistan’s T20I skipper despite his dismal performance.
In the upcoming months, the PCB anticipates that the ace bowler will emerge as a leader and dominate, helping the Green Army to win the coveted T20 World Cup trophy in 2024. Shaheen has demonstrated his leadership abilities in the PSL by leading Lahore Qalandars to two straight championships in 2022 and 2023.
With 17 victories and 7 losses in 25 games, the 23-year-old has a 70 percent winning percentage when it comes to his overall captaincy record in the league. The PCB will not think twice about choosing Shaheen as the captain of the ODI team if he continues to demonstrate his leadership qualities in the coming days.
3. Mohammad Rizwan
During the disastrous 2023 season, Mohammad Rizwan led the Men in Green in scoring with 395 runs in eight innings of nine games. He added his unbroken 131 off 121 to Pakistan’s highest World Cup chase against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad.
Many supporters of Pakistan’s cricket were expecting the PCB to name Rizwan as their white-ball skipper after seeing the wicketkeeper-batter’s outstanding performance. The 31-year-old’s performance will be monitored by the team management over the course of the next 12 months, and if he continues to be a reliable batsman, his candidacy to captain the ODI team cannot be discounted.
In the PSL, Rizwan has an outstanding record as captain of the Multan Sultans. In the 2021 league season, the squad won the championship while he was captain. In 36 games as Sultans’ captain since 2021, he has 24 victories and 12 defeats.
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