Shahid Afridi wasn’t impressed with Shan Masood being vice-captain for New Zealand series

Shahid Afridi (left) and Shan Masood (right) (Source - Twitter)

Pakistan cricket team’s interim chief selector Shahid Afridi reckons that Pakistan batter Shan Masood should not have been named as the vice-captain of the national side for the recently-concluded ODI series against New Zealand. This decision came about on the back of Masood missing out on ODI cricket for about three years.

Masood made only one appearance in the series, which was in the third ODI, where he scored a 2-ball duck. Pakistan also went on to lose the match by two wickets, consequently losing the series 2-1. In a recent interview, the Pakistan chief selector revealed that Masood was never under consideration by himself or captain Babar Azam for the role of vice-captain.

He can't be vice-captain based on his performances for Derbyshire: Shahid Afridi

"Shan Masood should not have been named as vice-captain of the ODI squad. Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should have taken captain or chief selector under confidence; he was neither under consideration by me nor by Babar Azam for the first two ODIs against New Zealand," Afridi was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.

Masood, who was out of the national team for a long period forced himself into the reckoning after some impressive performances with Derbyshire in the English County. He also went on to captain the side for a period. However, this was not enough for Afridi to put the Pakistan batter in the leadership setup for the Men in Green.

"Shan Masood cannot be named as captain or vice-captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team based on his performances for Derbyshire," added the former Pakistan allrounder.

Pakistan’s ODI loss to New Zealand came on the back of a number of defeats and below-par performances by Babar’s side on home soil, forcing the management to consider making some changes to the side. They first lost the T20I series 4-3 to England, followed by a 3-0 whitewash by the Three Lions in the Test series. They narrowly escaped a Test series loss to the Kiwis a few days as they were saved by bad light on the final day of the second Test match. And now, the ODI series loss to the New Zealanders has piled on problems for Pakistan.