Former Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi said that there is no need to announce a vice-captain for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 for the Men in Green.
He expressed that there is only one captain in the team and everyone should provide him their full support and trust.
"I don’t think there is any need to announce a vice-captain [for World Cup]. There is only one captain, so only keep him in mind and let him do his thing," Afridi said during a media talk.
As per the former cricketer, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should have announced Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam till the World Cup to put this captaincy matter to bed.
“They [PCB] should have announced Babar Azam captain till the World Cup earlier, so the issue of captaincy would have ended there and then,” he added.
Afridi believes that there are still some aspects in which Babar needs to improve. Nonetheless, he thinks that Azam should go to India with full preparation and confidence as the captain of the team.
“I think Babar still needs to work on one or two things which I can see. After that, captain should go to India with full preparation and confidence," he concluded.
Earlier, Afridi on Saturday advised pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi to prioritise his bowling over batting.
"My expectations from Shaheen is first to perform with the ball because [Pakistan] depends on his early breakthrough," Afridi tweeted.
"I know he is working hard on his batting as well and we have seen what he can do," he added.
Moreover, Afridi also said that he has expectations from Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan to perform to their full potential as they both have "key roles".
Afridi shared his opinion while replying to a tweet by Shadab in which Shaheen could be seen hitting boundaries during the fourth match of the ODI series against New Zealand.
It must be noted that Pakistan have already won the ongoing ODI series against New Zealand after taking a 4-0 lead with comprehensive victories in previous matches.
- Shahid Afridi