Sarfaraz Ahmed gives his two cents on Pakistan’s T20I captaincy debate

Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has expressed his thoughts regarding the current debate on who should lead the national team in the T20 format.

The decision regarding the shift in captaincy comes with a crucial T20I season looming, featuring T20I series against New Zealand, Ireland, and England before the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies.

During a recent appearance on a local television program, Sarfaraz was queried by a fan regarding the shifts in captaincy within the Pakistani team.

“This is the job of PCB, obviously whoever they think best will be the captain. Currently, Shaheen Afridi is the captain for white-ball cricket, and Shan Masood is the Test team captain, so, whoever they appoint the captain should be given a full opportunity. So, whatever decision the cricket board makes will be better for the Pakistan team.” Sarfaraz said.

On the otherhand, former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi had also voiced his thoughts and underscored the need for patience and consistency in decision-making, especially when it comes to leadership positions within the team.

“I think that if you have appointed someone as captain (Shaheen) and given him the responsibility then give him time as well,” Afridi said.

“If you change the captain then either the decision to appoint him was wrong or the decision to change him now is wrong,” he further added.

It is worth noting that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is preparing to reinstate Babar Azam as captain ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024.

The PCB initially wants Babar to assume the captaincy until the upcoming mega-event tournament. However, Babar is inclined towards a more long-term commitment as captain. He has communicated to the Pakistan Cricket Board his wish to lead across all formats if he were to consider captaining the T20I team.