Shaheen replaces Rizwan as Pakistan ODI captain; move triggers speculation

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Star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi will replace Muhammad Rizwan as the new ODI captain of Pakistan next month. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made an announcement of the appointment amid the speculation that the sudden change of guard was pushed by white-ball head coach Mike Hesson.

The PCB announced that Shaheen will take charge of the Pakistani pack in the three-match ODI series against South Africa, which is scheduled to begin on November 4-8 in Faisalabad. The decision was taken during the meeting in Islamabad, which was attended by the national selectors, advisory board members and Hesson.

While the PCB has not cited any official reason for the switch, insiders believe Hesson`s recommendation served as a “springboard” to make the change.

So far, the 25-year-old pacer has featured in 66 ODIs, 92 T20Is and 32 Test matches for Pakistan.

Apart from Hesson`s insistence, the move has sparked a fresh round of speculation within Pakistan cricket circles about what else could have been a contributing factor to the PCB`s decision.

The wicketkeeper-batter captained Pakistan in 20 ODIs, winning nine and losing 11, a record that included a poor run in the ICC Champions Trophy and the subsequent series defeats in New Zealand and the West Indies.

There is also speculation that some officials in the cricket board were uneasy with Rizwan`s “growing tendency to involve religion in dressing room discussions”, something that also made some players uncomfortable.

Rizwan has had no qualms about expressing his faith even during cricket matches or in media interactions, and according to Pakistan batsman Imam ul Haq, he arranged special sermons in the team hotels and also urged players to pray five times a day.

Earlier, there were talks surrounding the former skipper, Inzamam-ul-Haq, that during his captaincy tenure between 2004 and 2007, he had also upset the then chairman, later Shaharyar Khan, by focusing on religion in the dressing room.

Recently, the “Green Shirts” also suffered a humiliating loss against the arch-rivals, India, in the title clash of the Asia Cup 2025. The loss in the final also marked Pakistan`s third defeat against Team India in the same event.

(With PTI Inputs)

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