PCB appoints Shaheen Afridi as new ODI captain, axing Mohammad Rizwan

On Monday, October 20, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appointed the pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi as the new ODI captain, replacing Mohammad Rizwan for the forthcoming series against South Africa.

Notably, the first of the three-match ODI series against South Africa is scheduled to commence on November 4. Afridi, who made his debut in 2018, has played 66 ODIs, scalping 131 wickets at an average of 24.28.

Interestingly, the decision to replace Rizwan has been taken by Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Mike Hesson, Director of High Performance Aqib Javed and the national selection committee. 

“The decision to replace Rizwan and appoint Afridi as captain was made following a meeting attended by white-ball head coach Mike Hesson, Director of High Performance Aqib Javed and members of the national selection committee in Islamabad,” the ICC statement read.

For the unversed, Rizwan was appointed as Pakistan’s white-ball captain on October 27 last year, leading the side in 20 ODIs, winning nine and losing 11 games. While he failed to take the side to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semi-finals, he secured ODI series wins in Australia and South Africa.

Moreover, the keeper-batter’s performance with the willow was decent enough after his appointment as the captain. However, the PCB officials took the final decision to replace him with Afridi.

For the unversed, Afridi is currently plying his trade in the two-match Test series against South Africa. In the first Test, Afridi pocketed four important wickets in the second innings as Pakistan defeated the World Test Championship winners.

Prior to this, Afridi was part of the Asia Cup 2025 campaign, scalping 10 wickets, finishing just behind India’s Kuldeep Yadav. Unfortunately, Pakistan suffered a defeat to Team India in the grand finale to end as the runners-up. Interestingly, they suffered a hat-trick of defeats to India in the Asia Cup 2025 campaign, including group stage and Super Four round.

Stay updated with the latest cricket news, match insights, and exclusive updates at BetBarter and download the BetBarter app to start betting today!