Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has sacked Mohammad Rizwan as ODI captain. On October 20, PCB put out a release announcing Shaheen Afridi as the new ODI captain ahead of limited-overs series at home against South Africa.
The decision to replace Rizwan with Afridi was taken in a meeting in Islamabad attended by head coach Mike Hesson, Director of High Performance Aqib Javed and other members of the selection committee.
"A meeting of the selection committee, also attended by Pakistan's white-ball head coach Mike Hesson, decided that Shaheen will lead Pakistan's ODI side against South Africa," the PCB said in a release.
Rizwan becomes hero as captain in 2024 and zero in 2025
Rizwan had a short stint as ODI captain. From 20 ODIs as captain under Rizwan, Pakistan won nine and lost 11. He made his ODI captaincy debut in Australia. Pakistan beat Australia 2-1 in the series. It was a big win despite Australia fielding a second-string side ahead of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Then, Pakistan beat Zimbabwe 2-1 in the three-ODI series. Later in 2024, Pakistan completed a 3-0 cleansweep on South Africa soil.
After a successful 2024 as ODI captain, Rizwan lived through a nightmare in 2025. Co-hosts Pakistan lost the tri-series at home to New Zealand. They only managed to beat South Africa in the tri-series. Then, they failed to win a single match in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. After getting out at the group stage, Pakistan toured New Zealand and suffered a 3-0 cleansweep. In August 2025, West Indies beat Rizwan-led side 2-1. It was Rizwan's last series as ODI captain.
Afridi’s experience as captain's
After the ODI World Cup 2023 debacle, Babar Azam was sacked as captain. Afridi was appointed T20I captain. After New Zealand beat them 4-1 in the series, Afridi was stripped off captaincy. PCB Chief Mohsin Naqvi asked Babar to become captain again ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024. Pakistan were knocked out of group stage again.
Afridi’s ODI captaincy debut
Afridi will make his ODI captaincy debut on November 4 at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad. All three ODIs will be played at the same venue.