Shaheen Afridi ignored my advice regarding captaincy, says Shahid Afridi

KARACHI: Former Pakistani skipper Shahid Afridi, known as ‘Boom Boom Afridi’, has revealed that he advised Shaheen Afridi for not accepting Lahore Qalandars captaincy for PSL 7 but he ignored his suggestion. 

In an interview with private TV channel, Shahid Afridi said, “I had advised Shaheen to wait for a year or two before accepting captaincy so that he can focus more on his bowling. But as he is also an Afridi, he didn’t listen to me,” Shahid Afridi 

“Having said that, I’m happy that he has decided to accept this responsibility and I hope that he proves me wrong,” he added.

He explained that he opposed Shaheen’s decision to accept the captaincy of Lahore Qalandars, saying he should have focused on his bowling before taking up the responsibility.

It is noteworthy here that Shaheen has been with the Lahore Qalandars' franchise since the third edition of the marquee tournament. This will be Shaheen's first-ever role as a skipper, which he accepted earlier this week.

Lahore Qalandars had earlier called a meeting to announce the new captain of the franchise where Shaheen Afridi was revealed as Sohail Akhtar's replacement for the upcoming PSL 7.

Babar Azam proved me wrong

Referring to the Pakistani skipper Babar Azam, Afridi said he was not in favour of Babar Azam's captaincy either and was of the view that increased load might put him under pressure because leading the Pakistani team is not easy.

“You have to deal with the media, manage the team, engage with the board. I was not confident that Babar Azam could lead the national team but he proved me wrong with his performance.”