Former Pakistan cricket team captain Rashid Latif delivered a scathing verdict on star pacer Shaheen Afridi, stating that he does not even deserve a place in the T20I playing XI amid a dismal run of form. Ever since the T20 World Cup, Afridi has not performed well for the national side, which has led to a lot of criticism from both fans and experts. He did not have a good outing in the T20 World Cup 2026, as Pakistan failed to reach the semifinals of the competition. He was appointed captain for the ODI series against Bangladesh, but Pakistan once again ended up facing a humiliating series loss.
Latif believes there is a ‘campaign’ to make Afridi the T20I captain after the World Cup debacle, but he completely rejected the idea and said that the fast bowler does not even deserve a place in the playing XI.
“Now everyone is saying that Shaheen should not be the ODI captain. He shouldn’t even be in the T20I team. People are now saying that he should become the captain of the T20I side after the World Cup debacle,” Latif said.
“Yes, he should have been earlier, but now he doesn’t deserve a place in the T20I team. People are running a campaign to have him be the captain of the T20I team instead of ODIs. He doesn’t even deserve a place. Now, the time is over,” he added.
Earlier, Shahid Afridi blasted the country’s selection committee and held them directly responsible for the ODI series loss against Bangladesh. Afridi launched a scathing attack at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selectors for the national team’s disastrous run of form.
“You saw the performances in the 2026 T20 World Cup, and after that we also lost the Bangladesh series 2–1. In my opinion, the selection committee deserves criticism. All of you in the committee have played so much cricket, yet you still don’t seem to have the idea of who should be the captain for which format,” Afridi said.
“You keep making too many decisions in the name of ‘surgery’. What you are doing is picking youngsters and players who have barely played a few first-class matches. Your domestic cricket is not even of the standard that it can consistently produce players ready to secure a place in the Pakistan team,” he added.