Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi has responded to rumours of Babar Azam taking over as the captain of the ODI team ahead of the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2027. On the eve of Pakistan's National Champions Cup 2026, the Pakistan Gold captain cleared the air over uncertainty over Pakistan senior team's leadership in the 50-over format.
"For now, I am the captain," Afridi said in the joint press conference.
Babar is currently Pakistan’s Test team’s captain. He replaced Shan Masood on the recently-concluded Test series against West Indies which was drawn 1-1.
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Afridi was named Pakistan’s ODI captain in October 2025. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lost faith in Mohammad Rizwan as ODI captain following the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 group stage exit.
Afridi had lost the captaincy to Babar earlier as well. Before T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies, Babar took over T20I captaincy from Afridi following the series loss on New Zealand tour.
Shaheen Afridi’s record as ODI skipper
During Afridi’s tenure as ODI captain, Pakistan have won seven out of 11 ODIs. Earlier this year, Pakistan had lost the ODI series to Bangladesh. However, they returned home and beat a second-string Australian team in the ODI series.
Afridi back in action, looking to strengthen bench strength
Afridi was recently dropped from Pakistan's Test side. He played in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2026, bagging nine wickets from seven games.
Afridi is looking at the National Champions Cup as a tournament which will help Pakistan add to their bench strength, especially with ODI World Cup next year.
“Whenever we go to a World Cup, we face a lot of injuries. In case there are any injuries before the World Cup, we will already have players available. The tournament pool will make it easier for us to find replacements," the left-arm pacer said.
Captains of National Champions Cup teams
While the National Champions Cup begins on August 11, Pakistan Afridi-led Pakistan Gold will take on Pakistan Blues in their first match on August 12. Sahibzada Farhan is leading the Pakistan Blues. Meanwhile, Pakistan Greens and Pakistan Whites are led by Shadab Khan and Saim Ayub respectively. The final of the tournament will be played on August 18.
All members of the Test squad are not a part of the domestic tournament as they prepare for the three-Test series in England.