Shahid Afridi Congratulates Shadab On Being Selected As Pakistan Captain

All-rounder Shadab Khan will lead Pakistan team in upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan.

LAHORE: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-March 13rd, 2023) Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi congratulated Shadab Khan on Monday on becoming captain to lead the national team in the upcoming series against Afghanistan.

Taking to Twitter, Shahid Khan Afridi said, "Congratulations to @76Shadabkhan on being selected as the captain for the Pak vs Afg series! A wise decision by PCB to rest senior players and give talented young leaders like Shadab a chance to shine. Excited to see him prove himself on the field! #ShadabKhan #PCB #PakVsAfg,”.

With one eye on the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 and the other on ensuring the careers of their elite cricketers are extended by strategically managing their workloads, the Pakistan cricket selectors today named a new-look and highly-talented 15-player squad for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, which will be played from 24 to 27 March in Sharjah.

All-rounder Shadab Khan will captain the side that includes four uncapped players, namely, Ihsanullah, Saim Ayub, Tayyab Tahir and Zaman Khan, while Abdullah Shafique, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf and Imad Wasim have been recalled.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam, along with Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi have been rested, while Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Mohammad Hasnain and Khushdil Shah have been dropped. These nine players were part of the Pakistan squad that reached the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.

Apart from the Shadab, players retained from the last T20I series are: Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Junior, Naseem Shah and Shan Masood.

Pakistan squad