'He reminds me of Imran Khan' - Aaqib Javed bats for Shaheen Afridi to become Pakistan captain

Lahore Qalandars head coach Aaqib Javed heaped praises on Shaheen Afridi for leading his franchise to the maiden PSL trophy after a win over the Multan Sultans in the finals. Aaqib tested positive for Covid-19 during the playoffs and missed out on the finals as he had gone under isolation. However, his franchise pulled out a stunning win when everyone expected Multan Sultans to clinch the title with their complete dominance in the PSL 2022 edition.

Javed revealed that the players and the team management had rushed to his hotel with a bouquet of flowers after the title victory, while the former wanted the credits to be given to the support staff, players and the skipper. Shaheen, who has played 22 Tests and 28 ODIs, has become an integral part of Pakistan set up in all three formats and the 21-year-old has already shown a lot of composure in international cricket.

Don’t think that age has any factor when it comes to leadership: Aaqib Javed

Javed mentioned that Shaheen has natural captaincy qualities and felt that age has nothing to do with leadership. He added that the two things that would drive Shaheen to the highest level as captain is his commitment and honesty. He also mentioned the meeting with former Pakistan World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan in which he informed the latter about Shaheen’s traits that looked similar to Imran. He said he expects Shaheen to take up Pakistan‘s captaincy considering his performances at the moment.

“Shaheen has natural leadership talent and this is something we figured out two years ago. This is why we promoted him as vice-captain. I personally don’t think that age has any factor when it comes to leadership. For a captain, it is important to be committed and honest; these two things are present in Shaheen in abundance,” Javed told in an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan.

“When we went to meet Imran Khan, I told him that Shaheen reminded me of his traits and I said that he will make us all proud. I am waiting for that time and the time will come soon,” he added.