Sensational Shaheen

Pakistani pacer Shaheen Afridi has replaced wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan as one-day international captain. Rizwan was appointed white-ball captain in October last year but he failed to steer his team ahead. Even his own performance suffered during his tenure as a skipper. We all know that a leader is born not trained. So expecting every players to perform like a leader is completely irrational.

Many players in the past all across the cricketing world have failed to perform as captain though they were great individual players. Therefore, I feel it is the job of selection panel to find out leaders from the very beginning and they should be groomed for future, otherwise trial and error will dent the performance of the team.

I hope Shaheen can bring a change in the dressing room. He is no doubt a world-class bowler and he has done a lot for his country. So expectation will be very high from him. He is only 25 and I am sure he will go a long way. It is going to be exciting to see how Shaheen exhibits his leadership skill in times to come.

Shahid Alam,

By email