File photo of Shahid Afridi
Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has come out in defence of his son-in-law Shaheen Shah Afridi following speculation that the tall pace bowler was going to be removed as the national T20 captain. “I think that if you have appointed someone as captain (Shaheen) and given him the responsibility then give him time as well,” Afridi told the media on Tuesday. “The biggest problem with our cricket is that our system changes whenever the faces change in the board. Whoever comes thinks whatever he is doing is the best for Pakistan cricket,” said Afridi.
Afridi remarked that Shaheen should be given adequate time to prove himself.
“If you change the captain then either the decision to appoint him was wrong or the decision to change him now is wrong,” he added.
Afridi was seen as one of the main driving forces behind the appointment of Shaheen as the national T20 captain after last year’s ODI World Cup India. Babar Azam was removed as the white-ball captain after Pakistan failed to advance beyond the league stages. The skipper then stepped down in the red-ball format.
Afridi also backed the appointment of a foreign coach but said he should be a high-profile person like Andy Flower, who has a great track record.
“I believe that even if you bring in a foreign coach, the staff under him should be Pakistani so that our people can also move forward and improve their skills,” he said.
Asked about the decision to include Imad Wasim and Muhammad Amir in the national training camp, Afridi felt it would have been better to first assess their fitness.
“But I can tell you that if they can come through this two-week training camp in Kakul they will be supermen,” he said.
Amir, back from retirement after 2020, has also backed Shaheen as T20 captain.
He tweeted, “Shaheen is not bad and I think he should be given time to prove his credentials.”
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