Pakistan ODI captain Shaheen Shah Afridi gave a straight forward and clear response to a question from a journalist over his captaincy role ahead of the 2027 World Cup set to be hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
With Pakistan’s tendency to change captains frequently and the reporter asking whether he is certain to lead the Men in Green in next year’s showpiece event, Afridi said with a smirk ‘Abhi tak toh main hee captain hoon’, which translates to I’m the captain for now.
How has Shaheen Shah Afridi performed as Pakistan’s ODI skipper?
With Babar Azam unsuccessful in helping Pakistan capture the 2023 World Cup and the T20 World Cup in the subsequent year, Mohammad Rizwan took over. While Rizwan captained the sub-continent nation to stunning series wins in Australia and South Africa, the results saw a sharp decline as Pakistan failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-finals despite being the co-hosts. More failures followed and the keeper-batter had to give up his role as Afridi was thrust into the role. The 26-year-old has captained Pakistan in 11 ODIs with seven wins, including a recent series win at home over Australia. As skipper, the youngster has taken 15 wickets in 11 games at 26.46.
With the left-arm speedster attending the presser ahead of the National Champions Cup 2026, he was asked by a reporter about whether he is a certainty to lead Pakistan in 2027 World Cup. In response, he said, “Abhi tak toh main hee captain hoon’, which translates to I’m the captain for now.’
Due to Babar Azam helping Pakistan to a series-levelling Test win over the West Indies, the Lahore-born cricketer has seemingly in line to come as the ODI skipper. But the PCB are likely to stick to Afridi as captain. Folddr
Which side will Shaheen Shah Afridi lead in the National Cup Champions?
Meanwhile, Afridi will lead Pakistan Gold in the 50-overs tournament, with the side having players of international quality like Haider Ali, Kamran Ghulam, Maaz Sadaqat and Mohammad Nawaz. The tournament will take place from August 11 to 18.
Pakistan Greens will be led by Shadab Khan, followed by Sahibzada Farhan captained by Pakistan Blues, while Saim Ayub will lead Pakistan Whites. All the players will be looking to push their case for the 2027 World Cup.