Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has issued a strong critique of fast bowler Shaheen Afridi, claiming that the left-arm pacer no longer merits a place in Pakistan’s T20I playing XI due to his recent struggles with form. The comments come after a disappointing run for Afridi since the T20 World Cup, during which Pakistan failed to progress to the semi-finals.
Afridi’s performances during the T20 World Cup 2026 drew widespread scrutiny, with both supporters and experts questioning his impact for the national side. He was later appointed captain for the ODI series against Bangladesh, but Pakistan endured another setback by suffering a series defeat.
Latif suggested that there has been a push to elevate Afridi to the T20I captaincy following the World Cup disappointment, an idea he firmly dismissed while questioning the pacer’s place in the squad.
“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.
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Earlier, former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi also voiced sharp criticism, targeting the national selection committee following the ODI series loss to Bangladesh. He held the selectors accountable for Pakistan’s recent performances and questioned their decision-making.
“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.
