Afridi appointed Pak ODI captain amid reports of Rizwan involving religion in team affairs

Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board's decision to sack Muhammad Rizwan as ODI captain and hand over the reins to left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has raised eyebrows, with reports suggesting that white-ball head coach Mike Hesson pushed for the change despite having worked with him for just one series.

The PCB on Monday announced that Shaheen will lead Pakistan in the three-match ODI series against South Africa in Faisalabad from November 4-8. The decision, the board said, was taken at a meeting in Islamabad attended by the national selectors, advisory board members, and Hesson.

Shaheen has played 66 ODIs and 92 T20Is for Pakistan besides also featuring in 32 Tests.

However, the move has sparked speculation within Pakistan cricket circles.

Since taking charge as white-ball head coach in late May, immediately after the Pakistan Super League, Hesson has only worked with Rizwan in one ODI series -- a three-match tour of the West Indies.

“It is strange that Hesson formed an opinion about Rizwan’s captaincy after just one series when the wicketkeeper-batsman’s success rate is 45 percent and don’t forget he won ODI series in Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa,” cricket analyst, Omair Alavi said.

Rizwan captained Pakistan in 20 ODIs, winning nine and losing 11, a record that included a poor run in the ICC Champions Trophy and subsequent series defeats in New Zealand and the West Indies.

Reports also claim that the decision to replace Rizwan was influenced not just by Hesson but also by members of the selection committee, including Aaqib Javed who is the director of the high-performance centre, and two former captains, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Misbah-ul-Haq, who are on the advisory board to the PCB Chairman, Mohsin Naqvi.

While the PCB has not cited any official reason for the switch, insiders believe Hesson’s recommendation served as a "springboard" to make the change.

Muhammad Rizwan involving religion in team affairs

There are also rumours that some people in the cricket board were a bit anxious over Rizwan’s growing tendency to involve religion in cricket discussions in the dressing room and this left some players uncomfortable.

Rizwan has had no qualms about openly expressing his faith even during cricket matches or in media interactions and according to Pakistan batsman, Imam ul Haq, he arranged special sermons in the team hotels and also urged players to pray five times a day.

The situation has drawn parallels to former skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq’s tenure between 2004 and 2007, when he upset the then chairman the late Shaharyar Khan with his leaning towards involving religion into the Pakistan cricket team.

Earlier, discarded Pakistan batter Ahmed Shehzad had publicly criticised Rizwan for using religion to find excuses to cover the team’s poor performances and termed it as unfortunate.