Pakistan appoints Shaheen Afridi as ODI captain, Rizwan stands down

The Pakistan Cricket Board on Monday removed Mohammad Rizwan as one-day international captain and named left-arm pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi as his replacement, a change announced after the first day of the ongoing Test in Rawalpindi and ahead of a three-match ODI series against South Africa that begins on November 4 in Faisalabad.

The board said the decision followed a meeting in Islamabad attended by the national selection committee and Pakistan's white-ball head coach, Mike Hesson. The PCB announced Afridi will lead the side in the home ODI series, describing the appointment as part of a unanimous decision intended to reinvigorate Pakistan's white-ball setup. The board did not set out a specific reason for removing Rizwan and did not name him in its initial statement.

Cricket officials and observers point to a run of inconsistent team results this year as context for the change. After earlier series victories in Australia, South Africa and Zimbabwe under Rizwan's captaincy, Pakistan suffered several setbacks in 2025, including a group-stage exit at the ICC Champions Trophy, a 2-1 series defeat in the West Indies and a loss in the home tri-series final to New Zealand....