Former Pakistan’s legendary all-rounder, Shahid Khan Afridi is of the opinion that there are two players in the current Pakistan setup who can lead the national team if they get the chance in the future.
While expressing his views regarding the future captain, the former skipper said that he is not worried about the future as he sees captaincy qualities in Muhammad Rizwan and Shadab Khan. If Babar wants to reduce the burden of captaincy in the future, Shahab and Rizwan both have the ability to lead the national setup.
“The good thing which I see is that, as far as the future is concerned, if Babar Azam says that he only wants to lead the side in one of red-ball or limited-overs cricket, we have options in the shape of Shadab Khan or Mohammad Rizwan who can be made captain,” Afridi said.
Babar Azam has been leading Pakistan national team in all three formats since the former wicket-keeper batter and the winner of Champion Trophy, Sarfaraz Ahmad, relinquished the post. The national team is performing phenomenally well under Babar Azam and the management will not go for any option in the near future.
The former hard-hitter, who led the Pakistan team into the semi-final in the 2011 World Cup, also appreciated Rizwan and Shadab for leading their franchises from the front in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) 7.
Rizwan-led Multan Sultans remained unbeaten in the first phase of the season and started the Lahore Leg with a magnificent victory against Peshawar Zalmi while Islamabad United, under the leadership of Shadab Khan, claimed the second spot on the PSL points table by winning three out of five matches.
Rizwan has scored 249 runs in his six matches, and currently, he is third on the list of leading run-scorers. Shadab has also been brilliant both with the ball as well as with the bat as the all-rounder has taken 15 wickets and scored 186 in his four innings with the bat.
