Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced Shaheen Afridi as the new captain of the national ODI team, effective immediately. The left-arm pacer will begin his leadership journey in the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa, scheduled from November 4 to 8.
Shaheen takes over from Mohammad Rizwan, who had been leading the ODI side since Babar Azam stepped down from captaincy last year. The PCB confirmed that this decision was made after careful discussions among the selection committee, white-ball coach Mike Hesson, and Director of High Performance Aqib Javed.
“𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅. 𝑾𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎,” 𝒂 𝑷𝑪𝑩 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.
Shaheen Afridi’s Leadership Journey So Far
This won’t be the first time Afridi dons the captain’s armband for Pakistan. The 25-year-old previously led the national side in T20Is against New Zealand in early 2024, winning one out of five matches. After that series, leadership was handed back to Babar Azam, before later being passed to Salman Ali Agha in 2024.
Rizwan, meanwhile, had a mixed run as ODI captain, guiding Pakistan to notable wins — including a 3-0 sweep over South Africa and a 2-1 victory against Australia. However, Pakistan’s early exit in the 2025 Champions Trophy, where they lost both group-stage matches, led to a reassessment of leadership plans.
“𝑹𝒊𝒛𝒘𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒌,” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝑪𝑩 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
With 194 international appearances across all formats, Shaheen’s experience and intensity make him one of Pakistan’s most trusted players. His appointment marks the beginning of a new era in Pakistan’s white-ball cricket.
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