Shaheen Afridi turns down PCB's vice-captaincy offer for ICC T20 World Cup 2024

Speedster Shaheen Afridi has rejected PCB’s offer to be Babar Azam’s deputy at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has reportedly rejected the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) offer to be the team’s vice-captain at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

On Friday, the PCB announced 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup that will be played next month in the West Indies and USA. Babar Azam will lead the Men In Green. Interestingly, no vice-captain was mentioned in the squad.

According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, the PCB selection committee approached Shaheen with the vice-captaincy post, but the fast bowler rebuffed them. The report said that a “sense of injustice continues to linger” in Shaheen as he was removed as the T20I captain after only one series loss.

Babar Azam was sacked as Pakistan’s white-ball captain last year after his team’s league phase exit in the World Cup 2023. Shaheen was then appointed as the new T20I skipper, but only after one series loss in New Zealand, Shaheen was replaced as the captain and Babar was reinstated.

Shaheen Afridi feels “betrayed” by the PCB

The report further says that after being “unceremoniously dumped” from the T20I captaincy position, Shaheen doesn’t want to be the vice-captain right now.

Shaheen and PCB had a public tussle a few weeks ago. In the announcement of Babar getting the T20I captaincy back, PCB had posted quotes from Afridi. However, the fast bowler took it to a public platform to reveal that he never said those words to the board.

Soon, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi rushed to Pakistan’s training camp in Kakul to talk to the senior fast bowler. They then reached a truce, but Shaheen remains feeling “thoroughly unimpressed and betrayed” by the board.

Shadab Khan and Mohammad Rizwan are strong alternatives to be considered for the vice-captaincy position.

Pakistan 15-man squad for ICC T20 World Cup 2024:

Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

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