Rawalpindi's Revolving Door: Pakistan's Six Captains and the Shadow of Shaheen Afridi

I am looking at the VIP gallery of Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. An October evening, a slight chill in the air. The pitch looks pristine, a batting paradise. But a shadow falls over the green grass—not of a player, but of an administrative void. Pakistan's T20I captaincy has changed hands six times in the past two years. The new captain for this series is Sahibzada Farhan. But the story behind this name is not just the rise of a cricketer; it is a mirror of a cricket board's loss of control. To understand this, we need to look back. The history of Pakistan cricket leadership has never been stable. But the current crisis is of a different magnitude. Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi—all have led the team at some point. But in recent years, some couldn't last more than a series. Shaheen Afridi's leadership story is particularly notable. He was appointed captain for one series, then Babar was brought back. This repetition makes one thing clear: the PCB's decision-making process relies more on immediate reaction than long-term planning. Salman Ali Agha was captain before this series. But he wasn't just removed from captaincy; he was dropped from the squad entirely. This raises my biggest question. When a captain is completely dropped from the team, it is not just a performance decision; it is a message. This decision suggests that Pakistan cricket is prioritizing novelty over experience. But the question is, can novelty survive without experience? The squad handed to new captain Sahibzada Farhan is a laboratory. Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf—these four are the backbone of Pakistan's T20I team. All are absent from this series. This means the new captain must take the field with a squad where the depth of experience is nearly zero. Farhan himself is a talented batter, but his T20I captaincy experience is primarily defined by a silver medal at the Asian Games. A single tournament result is not sufficient to prove long-term leadership qualities. I have been watching Pakistan cricket for many years. My experience tells me that the problems of this team were never confined only to the players. The problem runs deeper. It is hard to believe that a board that changes six captains in two years is operating under any coherent plan. Each new captain is not given time. Consequently, every new appointment becomes experimental. If the result of this experiment is poor, then a new face again. A team cannot build its identity this way. Another important aspect of this series is the inclusion of Razaullah. He impressed on his Test debut in England. But Test bowling and T20I bowling are completely different skills. When you get swing with the red ball, it works. But in T20s, you have to manage a four-over quota, bowl yorkers, and bring variation with slower balls. This transition is not easy. The Pakistani selectors have probably made this decision based on his Test performance. But success in the Test format does not always translate to T20Is. Another thing worth noting. Pakistan's squad includes four spinners—Abrar Ahmed, Arafat Minhas, Sufiyan Moqim, and Shadab Khan. Rawalpindi's pitch is generally helpful for pacers. October evenings have the potential for dew, which benefits the chasing side. In this situation, keeping four spinners is a tactical risk. If the pitch is suited for batting, the spinners will be under pressure. This suggests the selectors may have finalized the squad without a clear assessment of ground conditions. My biggest concern is the foundation of Farhan's leadership. He has no proven senior player at hand. Except for Fakhar Zaman, everyone else is new or relatively inexperienced. In this situation, it will be difficult for a new captain to make tough decisions. The absence of experienced players means there will be no balance in the dressing room. If results go bad, the pressure will fall directly on the new captain. I see the Asian Games silver medal as a signal that the PCB used to appoint Farhan. But there is a vast difference between a tournament result and long-term leadership. Success in a specific event is never proof of specific leadership qualities. Rather, it is a fleeting moment. Whether Pakistan's selection process understands this difference is questionable. The nature of the PCB's decision-making makes me think deeply. They have changed captains in all three formats simultaneously. Farhan in T20Is, Shaheen Afridi in ODIs, Babar Azam in Tests. Three separate decisions, three separate visions. But are these changes part of a coordinated plan? Or was each decision made separately? My suspicion is the latter. Whatever the result of this series, one thing is clear. The real problem of Pakistan cricket is not just player selection, but the lack of leadership continuity. A team that takes the field with a new captain every series can never understand its own strength. Runs may flow on the Rawalpindi pitch, the matches may be thrilling. But the most important question at the end of the series will be—will Farhan remain captain for the next series? Or a new face again? I believe the true significance of this series is not just in the results of three matches, but in an institution's decision-making culture. If Pakistan cannot stop its tendency to change leadership, then in the next T20 World Cup we might see a seventh captain. How many times can a team change its foundation? The answer to this question perhaps lies with the Pakistan Cricket Board itself.