The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) maintained its hasty decision-making by removing Mohammad Rizwan as ODI skipper for the Pakistan men’s squad.
The board has now named Shaheen Shah Afridi, the Men in Green’s top pacer, as their new 50-overs captain, which is extremely distressing for former cricketer Mohammad Amir.
Shaheen was named captain ahead of announcing the squad for the upcoming ODI series against South Africa at home, but Amir believes the decision to remove Rizwan is a little unfair, and that the latter is not a bad leader at all, citing his series victories in difficult environments such as Australia and South Africa. Amir also believes that his contributions should not have been overlooked before making the decision.
“I don’t think Mohammad Rizwan has been treated fairly. Rizwan was not a bad one-day captain. He led Pakistan to series wins in South Africa and Australia — something even some of our biggest captains couldn’t achieve. We should not have forgotten that,” the former Pakistan international was quoted as saying by Geo Super.
“Captaincy should not depend on just one good or bad series. We are all responsible for this — former cricketers and analysts included. We don’t allow stability in our cricket. Captains are not made overnight; it takes two to three years to build one. But here, one bad series is enough to replace a captain. I don’t think this is the right call. Rizwan is a smart captain and has that knack for leadership,” he added.
Furthermore, the cricketer-turned-expert suggested that a transition into the appointment of Shaheen as the captain could have been done by making him the vice-captain first, and then assessing his performances to finally arrive at the change in leadership roles.
“If Shaheen had to be made captain, he could have first been appointed as vice-captain and his performance judged accordingly — especially considering his fitness,” Amir concluded.
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