Former Pakistan captain questions Shaheen Afridi’s exclusion from ODI squad

Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez has raised concerns over Shaheen Afridi’s exclusion from the national ODI squad, questioning his role in the team. Afridi, who is currently ranked ninth in the ICC ODI bowlers' rankings, was left out of the squad despite being Pakistan’s key pacer for the past five years.

Hafeez pointed out the inconsistency in the selectors’ decisions, highlighting that Afridi was first removed from the Test squad and is now out of ODIs. He also mentioned that while Afridi’s recent performances may not have been up to the mark, completely sidelining him is not the right approach.  

“First, Shaheen Afridi is dropped from the Test squad, and the reason given is that he is being rested. But Shaheen himself says, ‘I am not resting; I have been dropped.’ Yes, he hasn’t been performing well in ODIs, and failure is a different issue, but this is not the right approach," Hafeez stated.  

"First, he was removed from Tests, then from ODIs—so what exactly is Shaheen Afridi’s role now?” he added.   

Pakistan has announced its squad for the upcoming tour of New Zealand, which is set to take place from March 16 to April 5. The selection saw some major exclusions, with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf left out of the ODI squad, while Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were sidelined from the T20I squad.

The squad features a mix of experienced and young players, as Pakistan looks to test new combinations ahead of upcoming tournaments. The absence of key players in both formats has sparked discussions about the team's strategy.