Captaincy brings out the best in Shahid Afridi and given his impressive form since being handed charge of Pakistan’s Twenty20 side, the flamboyant all-rounder should also be made the one-day captain, feels former skipper Inzamam-ul Haq.
Inzamam’s comments come at a time when Pakistan is playing New Zealand in a one-day and Twenty20 series in Abu Dhabi and Dubai with Younus Khan leading the team in the 50-over matches and Afridi in Twenty20 fixtures.
“I think after becoming Twenty20 captain Shahid has shown that he has become more mature and responsible as a player also,” Inzamam said.
Inzamam, who is Pakistan’s most capped player with 120 Tests and 378 one-day appearances, said the board should make Afridi captain of the one-day side until the next 2011 World Cup.
“I think it would be a good choice because Afridi also gets along well with the other players of the team and has good communication skills and since he was given responsibility, he has been very effective in his individual performances as well,” Inzamam said.
Inzamam said Younus was struggling for runs in one-day cricket and this was not a good sign for the team.
“He is under pressure and unless the captain is contributing as a player it adds to the pressure on the other members of the team,” the former captain noted.
He suggested that the board appoint Younus as captain for the Test matches which would allow him to concentrate on his batting.
Inzamam also criticised Younus, coach Intikhab Alam and chief selector Iqbal Qasim for dropping all-rounder Shoaib Malik for the first one-dayer against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi.
“It is a stupid thing they did because he is too experienced a player to be dropped or sacrificed for accommodating two regular openers. Malik’s exclusion has spoilt the balance of the team and this will be obvious against stronger sides,” he cautioned.
