Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif criticized ODI captain Shaheen Afridi after the series defeat against Bangladesh. Rashid Latif raised questions on the current form of Shaheen Afridi and said that the left-arm fast bowler should no longer get a place in the playing eleven of the national cricket team.
The comments come just days after former Pakistan national cricket team captain Shahid Afridi criticized the national selectors. The selection committee faced heavy criticism after a humiliating 2-1 defeat in the One Day International series against the Bangladesh national cricket team in Dhaka last week.
Shaheen Afridi does not deserve a place in Pakistan’s T20I team – Rashid Latif
After the Bangladesh series defeat, many fans and cricket pundits suggested that Shaheen Afridi should step down from the ODI captaincy and be replaced by Salman Ali Aga as the T20I captain. However, Rashid Latif said that the fast bowler will first have to earn his place in the playing eleven.
Latif said, “Now everyone is saying that Shaheen should not be the ODI captain. He should not even be in the T20 team. People are now saying that after the World Cup defeat, he should become the captain of the T20 team.”
He said, “Yes, he should have been there earlier, but now he does not deserve a place in the T20 team. People are campaigning to make him the captain of the T20 team instead of the ODI team. He does not even deserve a place. Now, the time is up.”
Shaheen Afridi’s struggle in ICC T20 World Cup 2026
The 25-year-old fast bowler faced a poor performance in the T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. Shaheen Afridi gave away 31 runs in two overs against the Indian national cricket team. The team management dropped him for the next group-stage match against the Namibia national cricket team.
Shaheen faced intense scrutiny during the Super 8 stage. During the last over against the Sri Lankan national cricket team, Dasun Shanaka hit him for a four and three sixes. Earlier in the tournament, he had a poor performance of one wicket for 42 runs against the United States.
Since the 2022 tournament, Shaheen has struggled to find swing and score runs across all formats. His inability to strike during the powerplay overs has put immense pressure on the rest of Pakistan’s bowling attack.
Shaheen Afridi under pressure before PSL 2026
The left-arm fast bowler continued his poor form in the recent bilateral series against Bangladesh. Afridi took four wickets in three matches but had less than his usual impact. He repeatedly failed to achieve early success at the top of the order.
Afridi tried to save the match with the bat during the series decider in Dhaka. He played a strong inning of 37 runs, but Pakistan national cricket team missed by 11 runs. He will lead Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League starting on March 26.
The upcoming PSL season is an important test for the fast bowler. Afridi will have to rediscover his yorkers and wicket-taking abilities. Strong domestic performances will be important to quell the growing criticism from former players and fans like Rashid Latif.
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