Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi celebrates taking a wicket during their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup match — ICC
Captain Shaheen Shah Afridi has been replaced by T20I skipper Salman Ali Agha for the remaining two ODI matches against Sri Lanka after he became ill.
At the toss, Agha explained the team’s strategy and changes, saying that spinner Abrar Ahmed was drafted into the playing XI.
“Shaheen is unwell and Faheem also misses out, while Abrar Ahmed and Wasim Jr were added in,” Agha said.
He added: “We are going to bowl first, we want to start well — if you don’t start well in the white-ball game, then you end up chasing the game.”
Shaheen was appointed Pakistan’s 50-over captain on November 10 ahead of the three-match ODI series against South Africa, replacing Mohammad Rizwan.
In his first ODI assignment as skipper, he led Pakistan to a 2-1 series win over the Proteas.
For the unversed, Rizwan had led Pakistan in 20 ODIs, securing nine wins and suffering 11 defeats, with a winning percentage of 45.
The 33-year-old was also appointed ODI and T20I captain on October 27 last year ahead of Pakistan’s white-ball tours of Australia and Zimbabwe.
However, Rizwan’s stint as T20I captain was disappointing, with Pakistan losing all four T20Is under his leadership.
Following those defeats, Rizwan was removed as T20I captain, and all-rounder Salman Ali Agha was entrusted with leading Pakistan in the shortest format, including the upcoming tour of New Zealand.
