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Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday named allrounder Shahid Afridi as Twenty20 captain until the ICC World Twenty20 2016 in India.
Misbah-ul-Haq has been retained as captain for ODIs and Tests until the 2015 World Cup.
Pakistan have three T20 matches lined-up in the upcoming series against Australia and New Zealand.
"In line with my policy of taking decisions democratically I consulted the Cricket Committee and my board members before announcing these decisions," PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said.
"I wish both Afridi and Misbah very good luck in their upcoming assignments."
According to sources, the PCB chairman had taken all the Governing Board members into confidence over the decisions with the exception of Najam Sethi who is not in Pakistan.
For the last many months, the 34-year-old Afridi, in his comments to the media, had been expressing the desire to captain Pakistan once again.
Know more: Shahid Afridi all set to be named Twenty20 captain
“As T20 captain, Afridi will be in a position to put some pressure on Misbah who is already under pressure for not giving good results in the last series against Sri Lanka,” sources had told Dawn.
“If Misbah fails to regain his form against Australia and New Zealand, he may lose his captaincy to Afridi before the World Cup,” sources had said.
Afridi has a good captaincy record in ODI format, as he led national team to 18 wins in 34 matches he captained while losing 15, and one match ending in no result.
In T20 games however, Afridi’s captaincy record is not very impressive. In 19 T20 games he led the national team, Pakistan won only eight and lost 11.
It is also learnt that head coach Waqar Younis, who has not had a very cordial relationship with Afridi in the past, was not consulted by the chairman over the issue of T20 captaincy as the former fast bowler was scheduled to arrive in Pakistan from Australia late Monday night.
Pakistan will start their tour against Australia next month with a T20 scheduled on 5th October 2014 at Dubai Cricket Stadium, UAE.
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Comments (50) Closed
Sep 16, 2014 12:58pm
Not a wise decision. Afridi has reached his potential as an international cricketer. Recently, he has neither performed with the ball nor with the bat. I am afraid he will not be able to lead the team by example.
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Sep 16, 2014 01:06pm
This format needs a young captain, may be Shahezad or U akmal
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Sep 16, 2014 01:08pm
Not a wise decision. PCB should have selected a non controversial player. Poor performance is on record as well
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Sep 16, 2014 01:12pm
Wise decision. Irrespective of anything, he is a fighter and have aggressive approach. All the best Sahabzada Shahid Khan Afridi
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Sep 16, 2014 01:29pm
MAy be a good time for Afridi to retire in 2016 with the cup tag on himself..
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Sep 16, 2014 01:33pm
@M A Mujeeb - Negative thinking !
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Sep 16, 2014 01:34pm
Afridi does not even deserve to be included in the T20 Squad. This is indeed a Political Decision made by Shareef and Sethi ... an attempt to entice Afridi, you may call it 36th puncher.
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Sep 16, 2014 01:38pm
And are they sure that he is not going to resign in a few months or before the 2016 championship. This is too long a period for Afridi to sustain one thought in his mind. I have no doubt about his charismatic sportsmanship and also his flamboyant approach in batting but doing anything long term with Afridi playing a major role in that plan is not a very wise thing to do. I wonder what number he would choose for himself in the batting order.
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Sep 16, 2014 01:42pm
@M A Mujeeb .. I am not sure on which planet these misbah lovers live. lol hilarious comment. Afridi is the only reminiscent of 90s flair, and should also be made 50 overs captain, we did really well in 2011 worldcup except for what misbah did to get the captaincy at the cost of the worldcup in semi final.
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Sep 16, 2014 01:45pm
Interesting the person with the worst win percentage (42%) has been chosen to lead the team according to the table given in the news. The record shows Shoab Malik and Misbah to be the best captains. And Hafeez having played more matches as captain also holds a decent record. Question is why Afridi at this time. Is there any logic to the decision or is it just the emotional feelings that we attach with Afridi being energetic and sometimes over enthusiastic.
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Sep 16, 2014 01:52pm
Technically speaking, the cricket of Afridi has finished long ago what to talk of 2016. He is surviving on his century which he scored in 1997 coupled with the advertisement appeal. With no technique, footwork and being hot in the head, he is a receipe for disaster. Due to the huge amount of money involved in cricket these days, people like Afridi, Misbah, Younus Khan do not let a new person like Hammad Azam, Ehsan Adil etc to enter the folds of our cricket team. Till we get rid of the indispensable lot of Pakistan cricket mentioned above, things would not change for our team.
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Sep 16, 2014 01:53pm
Professionalism is always about strength of nerves first and anything else skills later. Good to see him as captain again as he can take pressure.
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Sep 16, 2014 02:03pm
And PCB chose, never to move on!
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Sep 16, 2014 02:21pm
"ULTIMATE CHOICE"
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Sep 16, 2014 02:45pm
Fawad Alam for captaincy.
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Sep 16, 2014 02:48pm
I do not endorse it. Wish before world-cup they will change the captain, and best luck to afridi with his captaincy for upcoming assignment.
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Sep 16, 2014 02:55pm
As if losing to Sri Lanka and demotion to No. 6 ranking was not enough, we have taken yet another wrong decision to demote the team like hockey.
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Sep 16, 2014 02:56pm
Today is a sad day for PK Cricket. Afridi does not have a place in the team and he made a captain. PCB has become a circus.
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Sep 16, 2014 03:17pm
very wise decision - way to go shahryar khan. Afridi rightfully deserves to captain Pakistan both in T20 and One dayers. He has been a great asset to the game and to Pakistan and no doubt he will bring in badly needed energy and vigor into the team inshallah.
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Sep 16, 2014 03:22pm
An essential personality trait for a captain is strategic thinking. Afridi does not think at all so strategic thinking is asking for too much. He is hot headed and impulsive. Biting on a ball or digging holes on a pitch is shameful but not being conscious of tv cameras while doing falls in the 'stupidity personified' category.
This decision is supposedly democratic with Board consensus. May Allah help Pakistan cricket.
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Sep 16, 2014 03:28pm
Ahh. Wise decision, this person can even get PCB to task. Best of Luck SKA
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Sep 16, 2014 03:35pm
A pathetic decision! All teams going for young Twenty 20 captains. Pakistan is going backwards. It wont bring any good for the team's performance and unity.
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Sep 16, 2014 03:49pm
Despite his bad record as T-20 captain, we have made him the captain again !
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Sep 16, 2014 04:00pm
I said before that Afridi would be the best choice.He has charisma and has the ability to coax the best out of the team. This is also
his last time around and he knows that therefore he should bat with more responsibility. This should be a joint effort for Misbah, Younus, Afridi and other Senior players to help train younger set of players to take the team to the next level in the coming years. The current team is creaking at the seams with old age and needs to be revamped with youngsters, maybe the next successful Captain is now on the team and is getting ready to lead the the next generation of players. I pray so..
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Sep 16, 2014 04:14pm
Age and experience has nothing to do in field where only young, energetic, fastest eye and reflex action has to work.Our all games and systems have been ruined by re-employed,extensions,lateral entries and shameless people who think themselves"Allamahs"
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Sep 16, 2014 04:17pm
We have people who are serving way past their expiration date.80+ year old chairman, 40 year old test captain and now re appointed 34 year t20 captain.
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Sep 16, 2014 04:35pm
Indeed it is a politically motivated decision to entice Afridi by Shareefs. In my opinion Afridi does not even deserve to be included in squad. I d rather say Sethi trying to make 39th puncture
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Sep 16, 2014 04:51pm
I think Shahid Afridi is the right choice at the moment. At the same time, it is simply important to identify couple of players who could be made captain once S.Afridi retires. The management needs to identify players who have the potential to lead in the future, and the grooming needs to start now.
Ali Khan
Digital Engagement Team, USCENTCOM
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Sep 16, 2014 04:56pm
Best decision. People have under estimated his captaincy all the time. He became a captain of ODI and T20 during spot fixing scandal, when no one else wanted to take on the role. His team stats were rubbish because we had lost our key players and for the England Series and a few that followed, it took us a little time to gel together. That said, look at all his record after the spot fixing period and all you see is victories, until the semi final loss of world cup. Please be a bit more open minded people, this man has generated enormous amount of money for PCB - a lot of my western friends have been to watch Pakistan games in UK, purely to watch Afridi.. so we have to consider fan following too.
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Sep 16, 2014 05:38pm
If they could not take the bold step of infusing new blood and supporting young guns by appointing well deserved Fawad Alam as the new skipper of T/20, ODI and test matches, then under the prevailing circumstances, it is good decision to say the least.
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Sep 16, 2014 05:54pm
Pak Cricket ..... RIP .....
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Sep 16, 2014 05:57pm
Afridi should have been given captaicy of ODIs as well. Misbah is a failure.
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Sep 16, 2014 06:09pm
Afridi is a spent force and one wonders why the PCB keeps betting on an old horse who has lost his charm and performance with the bat and ball. A very wrong decision.
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Sep 16, 2014 06:24pm
I was hoping to groom young player like Fawad alam or Sohaib maqood for future captain
Anyways good luck to Afridi. Misbah as captain for coming WC will probably cost us next world cup 'again'. Very poor decision indeed.
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Sep 16, 2014 06:37pm
Bad decision.
Afridi does not have the temperament for being in the playing eleven, let alone the captain
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Sep 16, 2014 06:47pm
Only in Pakistan we rotate captaincy between a few. Afridi's time has come and gone. PCB needs to move to younger players or cricket will be history soon.
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Sep 16, 2014 07:31pm
I think Fawad Aalam would have been a better choice for captaincy of T20. Later on he could be assigned the duty of leading the ODI side as well. For now just lets pray for Afridi and Pakistan
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Sep 16, 2014 10:28pm
ABDUL RAZAAK FOR CAPTIAN -- We need him back !! Non controversial , Senior all rounder that provides the much needed backsupport to this team. He had major contribution when he returned in T20 WC and help Pakistan team win.
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Sep 16, 2014 11:36pm
Good decision, he has the right attitude and aggression for captaincy.
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Sep 17, 2014 12:53am
This guy must have strong connections with influential people. He does not deserve to be in the team (bad performance and bad behavior) let alone be the captain of a national team.
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Sep 17, 2014 12:57am
Not a good decision at all. Leaders lead by example and this guy ready guy is ready to throw away his wicket in a flash! He will put team under tremendous pressure. They should groom a new blood like Fawad or Sohaib or at least make one of them a deputy.
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Rab Rakha. Love from Ludhiana!
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Sep 17, 2014 01:11am
This guy is not mentally stable. After the defeat in UAE, I can see this guy getting upset and quitting cricket. MARK MY WORD!!!
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Sep 17, 2014 01:30am
ab bus hay afridi ko. or kitna cricket kaylay ga? ab budda hogaya hay. youngsters ko chance dayna chaea. no monopoly now acceptable
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Sep 17, 2014 02:27am
we are going backwards. We want a Dhoni for our team.
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Sep 17, 2014 02:46am
That is a clear and alarming signal for pakistan cricket that we are not producing any new cricketer. All our younger generation busy on FB , playing games or texting . They have no interest in any sport at least in cities.
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Sep 17, 2014 03:26am
Poor selection.
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Sep 17, 2014 03:26am
He should be a captain for ODIs instead of Misbah coz no one else is experienced besides him. It doesn't make sense to make him captain for the T20, its only few matches...
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Sep 17, 2014 05:55am
T20 is hit and giggle nothing serious try to give the captaincy to some young guy's like Alam,Shehzad,or Akmal that's how we will make future captains for the longer run cricket
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Sep 17, 2014 11:05am
Afridi is spent fuel!
Does not use his brain!
PCB should have picked a brainy young player!
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Sep 18, 2014 02:20am
The people will chant 'go Shaharyar go' after the world cup 2015. If Misbah is given the the best ever top 10 players of the world under him he will still lose. Misbah will slow down the average by his tuk tuk in the middle overs. Whenever Pakistan has won it was when Misbah failed in his batting, because if he bats he slows down the run rate. Misbah still thinks that Imran Farhat, Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik should be in the playing eleven.
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