Pakistan Appointed Shaheen Afridi as the New ODI Captain

Pakistan appointed Shaheen Afridi as the new ODI captain on 20 October after the meeting of PCB’s selection committee. Shaheen Afridi replaced Mohammad Rizwan as an ODI captain, and his first assignment will be against South Africa. Pakistan is going to host a three-match ODI series against the Proteas from 4 November. The selection committee and Pakistan’s white-ball coach, Mike Hessen, have decided to appoint Shaheen Afridi as the ODI captain of Pakistan. PCB has made this decision due to the continuous poor performance of the Pakistan team under the leadership of Rizwan.

Shaheen Afridi, Pakistan’s New ODI Skipper

Shaheen Afridi has already led Pakistan in T20Is against New Zealand away from home in early 2024. Pakistan has lost that series badly, and Shaheen was replaced by Babar Azam in the shortest format of cricket. New Zealand won that five-match T20I series by 4-1, and that was the major reason behind Shaheen’s removal.

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The pacer has a great record in the PSL, where he led his team to three title wins that prove his dynamic leadership. He has a great ODI record as a frontline bowler for Pakistan and now takes the responsibilities in this format. Pakistan’s new ODI captain will try to replicate the same performance as a skipper.

Shaheen Afridi ODI Stats

Shaheen played his first ODI match for Pakistan in 2018 and emerged as a frontline pacer in this format of cricket. He has played 66 ODIs and taken 131 wickets in this format with an impressive average of 24.28. Pakistan wants to prepare a young leadership before the ODI World Cup 2027. Now he is in great form as he is the leading wicket-taker for Pakistan. He has taken 45 wickets in ODIs after the ICC World Cup 2023, and these were the highest by any bowler from full member nations.

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Rizwan as Pakistan’s skipper

Mohammad Rizwan was appointed as the ODI captain in October 2024 due to his dominant performance in the format. He led the Pakistan side during the Australian tour, where Pakistan became successful. Pakistan won the three-match ODI series against the Aussies by 2-1, and this was the first time in 22 years. This was a huge success under the Rizwan leadership on Australian soil.

Pakistan got a famous win against South Africa in December 2024 under Rizwan’s captaincy. Rizwan’s side won that series 3-0 with a great improvement in their ODI performance. The real reason behind Rizwan’s replacement was his performance in the home tournament, ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Pakistan was knocked out of the group stage of the event after the early loss to arch-rival India.

Pakistan also struggled during their next tour against New Zealand, where they lost the series 3-0. Rizwan played his last ODI series as a skipper against the West Indies, which he lost 2-1. Mohammad Rizwan won nine ODI games as a captain and faced a loss in 11 games.