Afridi's future as Pak captain all but over

Karachi: Shahid Afridi's chances of regaining Pakistan's ODI and T20 captaincy is all but over, but the flamboyant all-rounder will get a chance to prolong his career as a player in the national team, a PCB source said.

According to a PCB source, Misbah-ul-Haq will now lead the team in all forms of the game over the next few months and, in the meantime, Mohammad Hafeez will be groomed as his possible successor. © AFP

According to sources, PCB chairman Ijaz Butt has decided to revoke the policy of having separate captains for limited overs cricket and Test matches, which means Misbah-ul-Haq is expected to take over the charge of Pakistan team in all three formats of the game.
"The decision to remove Afridi as the captain of the one-day team and hand over this responsibility to Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq is part of the new thinking in the board," one source told PTI.
He said the primary reason for the change in the strategy was the fear of groupism within the team.
"The board got concerned with reports filtering in during the World Cup that Afridi had started to take his captaincy for granted. Some players have also complained about adjustments they need to do with two captains instead of one," the source said.
"The reason for handing over full captaincy duty to Misbah is simple; he has been in consistent form since last year and has delivered in all formats of the game.
"In contrast, Afridi has retired from Test cricket and has struggled to deliver as a player on consistent basis in the one-day team," the source stated.
"It is now decided that Misbah will continue to lead the team in all forms of the game over the next few months and, in the meantime, Mohammad Hafeez will be groomed as his possible successor," the source added.
The source, however, rebuked speculations that the PCB and selectors were not keen enough on continuing with Afridi as a player.
"No, he will be given full opportunity to perform as a player in the T20 and ODI teams," he said.
Chief selector Mohsin Khan, on Wednesday, gave credence to this argument when he said that Afridi had another two or three years of cricket left in him.
"I don't think it is such a big issue if he misses the Ireland series but he still has lot of cricket left in him and is a very experienced performer," Mohsin said.
"When he is available he will get his chance," he added.