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'Captains not made overnight': Mohammad Amir says, 'Rizwan not treated fairly'
Pakistan cricket has appointed Shaheen Afridi as the new ODI captain, replacing Mohammad Rizwan. Former player Mohammad Amir defended Rizwan's leadership.
Pakistan cricket has once again been shaken up. They have recently removed their ODI captain, Mohammad Rizwan, from the post and have appointed Shaheen Afridi. Speaking about this move, former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Ami challenged the decision, arguing that Rizwan had neither failed as a leader nor been given a fair runway.
Amir’s remarks, delivered via a video message on his X handle, framed the issue as one of principle: you cannot build captains on one-series judgments.
Amir backs continuity
The crux of Mohammad Amir’s critique is blunt, “I don’t think Mohammad Rizwan has been treated fairly. Rizwan was not a bad one-day captain,” he said, making it clear that this was about process as much as personnel.
He then anchored the argument with recent results. “He led Pakistan to series wins in South Africa and Australia, something even some of our biggest captains couldn’t achieve. We should not have forgotten that,” said Amir. His point is simple that if an incumbent has banked away tours and credibility, you don’t erase that ledger after one downturn.
Amir also attacked the revolving-door mindset around the leadership, “Captaincy should not depend on just one good or bad series. We are all responsible for this, former cricketers and analysts included. We don’t allow stability in our cricket. Captains are not made overnight; it takes two or three years to build one. But here, one bad series is enough to replace a captain. I don’t think this is the right call. Rizwan is a smart captain and has that knack for leadership.”
Finally, he flagged a pathway that would have reduced the risk around the transition. “If Shaheen had to be made captain, he could have first been appointed as vice-captain and his performance judged accordingly, especially considering his fitness,” he said.
Notably, this is the 10th captain to be changed by Pakistan across formats in the last couple of years. Amir's pointing to the instability around the leadership of the Pakistan team seems a valid point, given the number of changes they have made. There have also been talks about them changing the captain in the T20I format as a result of their 3-0 loss against India in the recently concluded Asia Cup.
For Shaheen Afridi, the job will be to yield immediate results while looking to build for the World Cup in 2027. As a leader, Afridi has proven himself in the PSL, leading the Lahore Qalandars to the title. It is time for him to step up as the captain of the national side and bring stability to Pakistan cricket.
