Shaheen Afridi wants unity to be Pakistan's identity under his leadership

Shaheen Shah Afridi has been one of the casualties of Pakistan cricket’s brutal game of captaincy musical chairs. But at a stage in his career when he has much to prove, the left-arm pace spearhead has the One-day International (ODI) captaincy firmly in his grasp, with the 2027 World Cup looming on the horizon. Unlike in 2024, when he was removed as Pakistan’s T20 captain after just one series in charge, the country’s cricket board appears to have committed to giving Shaheen a longer run as leader. Appointed to the ODI role 12 months ago, he is expected to lead Pakistan through to next year’s World Cup in South Africa. When Pakistan take on Sri Lanka in the opening match of the ODI tri-series on Sunday, Shaheen will have Babar Azam among his charges. Babar replaced him as T20 captain in 2024 before eventually making way for Salman Ali Agha.

Shaheen, meanwhile, took over the ODI captaincy from former skipper Mohammad Rizwan, who is currently under investigation by the country’s cybercrime agency. Not long ago, Babar, Shaheen and Rizwan formed the core of Pakistan’s leadership group, with Babar shouldering much of the responsibility. He appeared to enjoy the backing of the other two, but the dynamics eventually changed amid a succession of captaincy reshuffles. Despite that turbulent history, Shaheen wants his side to be seen as a united team, with a common objective: winning the 2027 World Cup. “We are united as a team and our collective focus is towards winning the World Cup and how we can do it,” he told reporters at a pre-series press conference at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday. “The messaging from you [the media] should be good as well, to tell the people that this team is united, there is love in this team and this team tries to play good cricket. “It…