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Former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir has slammed the decision to appoint Shaheen Afridi as the One Day International (ODI) captain of national cricket team.
Shaheen replaced wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan as captain of national ODI team.
The left-arm pacer’s first assignment will be the forthcoming three-match series against South Africa, which will begin on November 4 at Faisalabad Cricket Stadium.
The decision to appoint Shaheen as captain was taken at a meeting held in Islamabad. The meeting was attended by head coach Mike Hesson, director of high performance Aqib Javed and members of the selection committee.
Following the decision, Amir believed this is not a good decision under the circumstances.
“I don’t think Mohammad Rizwan has been treated fairly. Rizwan was not a bad one-day captain,” he remarked via a video on his social media handle.
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,” Amir continued.
The 33-year-old stressed long-term planning and rued himself alongside former cricketers for destablization in Pakistan cricket while lavishing praise on Rizwan’s captaincy.
“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,” he added.
“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 he has that knack of captaincy.”
He suggested that if Shaheen was to be handed the reins of the national team, he should have first been made vice-captain.
“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,” he concluded.
READ: Shaheen Afridi replaces Mohammad Rizwan as Pakistan’s ODI captain
