Shaheen Afridi's Family Feud On The Rise As Shahid Afridi Demands Captaincy Strip

Shahid Afridi strongly criticises Shaheen [Source: @CallMeSheri1_, @CricketCentrl/X.com]

Former Pakistan legend Shahid Afridi lashed out at his son-in-law, Shaheen Afridi, after the men in green lost the ODI series to Bangladesh. The legend slammed the selection committee and demanded a captaincy change.

Pakistan recently lost a 2-1 ODI series to Bangladesh, with the final match played at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. 

Bangladesh scored 290/5, powered by a century from Tanzid Hasan. However, Pakistan were reduced to 2/2 early in the chase. Salman Agha scored a fighting 106, but the visitors were all out for 279, losing by 11 runs.

Shahid Afridi demands the removal of Shaheen as captain

The defeat came shortly after Pakistan’s disappointing campaign at the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, where they were knocked out of the Super 8 stage, thus increasing criticism of the team.

Amid this, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi blamed the selection committee for Pakistan’s recent struggles rather than the players alone. Afridi said the selectors don’t seem to know who should captain which format.

This was a direct aim at his own son-in-law, Shaheen Afridi, who is currently Pakistan’s ODI captain. 

"You saw the performances in the 2026 T20 World Cup, and after that, we also lost the Bangladesh series 2-1. In my opinion, the selection committee deserves criticism. All of you in the committee have played so much cricket, yet you still don’t seem to have the idea of who should be the captain for which format,” Shahid Afridi said on social media.

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The family feud isn’t new

That being said, this isn’t the first time Shahid Afridi has taken aim at Shaheen Afridi. After Pakistan got eliminated from the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, the former veteran slammed Shaheen for repeating the same mistakes.

"He (Shaheen Afridi) has been playing for some time now. You don't know from where you have to bowl the last over. He has been told many times that he should know these things by now. He has been repeating his old mistakes again and again," Shahid said on Saama TV.

Shaheen Afridi had conceded 22 runs in the last over against Sri Lanka, and he ended his spell at 48 runs conceded in four overs. Pakistan won the game narrowly but failed to qualify for the semi-finals due to negative NRR.

Statistically, Shaheen’s tournament was underwhelming. He picked 8 wickets in 5 games at 10.52 economy. For a strike bowler expected to lead the attack, these numbers were not good enough.

Will Shaheen Afridi be sacked as ODI captain?

Amid severe backlash and pressure, Pakistan coach Mike Hesson provided some clarity on Shaheen’s future as ODI captain. 

Speaking in the post-match press conference, Hesson praised Shaheen’s leadership qualities and said the pacer has handled a young and evolving squad well.

According to Hesson, Shaheen Afridi remained positive inside the dressing room, lifted the team’s morale during difficult phases, and displayed smart tactical thinking on the field. 

Hence, for now, the pacer will be backed to lead Pakistan in the ODI format for the near future.

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