Shaheen Shah Afridi Replaces M Rizwan as ODI Captain

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has officially announced Shaheen Shah Afridi as the new captain of the Pakistan men’s ODI team. The star left-arm pacer will take charge in the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa, set to be played at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium from November 4 to 8.

The decision to appoint Shaheen was made during a meeting in Islamabad attended by white-ball head coach Mike Hesson, Director High Performance Aqib Javed, and members of the national selection committee.

At just 25, Shaheen has already built an impressive international career — featuring in 66 ODIs and 92 T20Is, where he has collectively bagged 249 wickets. In addition, he has 120 wickets to his name in 32 Test matches (excluding the ongoing second Test against South Africa in Rawalpindi).

This won’t be Shaheen’s first leadership stint; he previously captained Pakistan in a five-match T20I series against New Zealand in 2024.