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"I always try to lead from the front": Shaheen Shah Afridi

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Shaheen Shah Afridi’s Press Conference (Ahead of Pakistan vs South Africa 1st ODI):

“It’s an honour for me to represent Pakistan as captain. Of course, even as a player it’s always special to wear the Pakistan shirt, but leading the national side is a different kind of pride altogether.”

"Our job is to serve Pakistan cricket and fulfil whatever role we're given. Leadership appointments are the management's decisions, and we respect that. My focus right now is on improving our one-day cricket and leading the team from the front"

“This is my first series as captain, and I’m looking forward to it. We had a good outing in the previous series, and the team is in positive spirits. Hopefully, we’ll carry that momentum into this series as well.”

“The weather conditions are much better now compared to the last tournament, where it was extremely hot and no team wanted to bowl first. Bowling 50 overs in that kind of heat was very tough. But now the conditions are improving, although in the evening the ball might get a little wet due to dew. We’ll assess the conditions on match day and decide accordingly.”

“About the batting order, I think there’s a bit of misunderstanding. In New Zealand, I didn’t make those changes on my own. As captain, I try to send players according to their proper batting numbers. Cricket is a team game — decisions are taken collectively with the management and the head coach. If it was an individual game, I’d be playing a different sport altogether,”

“Every team goes through phases where a few players struggle. You only have two or three who perform consistently in every series. Babar’s last innings was really good — it must have given him confidence that he’s getting back to his best. Just because he didn’t score runs in two or three matches doesn’t mean he’s out of form. He’s been performing for Pakistan for four or five years, always among the top scorers — whether in ODIs or T20s. He has that ability to score runs and win games for the team.”

“Whenever our senior players have performed, Pakistan has won. That’s always satisfying because as a senior player, it’s your responsibility to finish the match. Babar showed that in the last game. As for me, I always try to lead from the front — whether I’m captain or not — and contribute to my team’s success whenever I get the opportunity.”
 
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Shaheen better focus on being a good captain... His own performance is gonna get noticed more, so he better watch out... Cannot be having another captaincy change that soon.
 
Good he clarified about his batting posting being a team and management decision. So many were quick to attack him and call him selfish based on that.
 
First time ever I saw Shaheen not batting like a number 11.

It seems like he was saving the sensible batting to use under his own captaincy.
 
Rather uninspiring captaincy today

We never looked like we had a chance to win the game.
 
He has taken just 1 wicket in 2 matches what will he inspire as captain.

Lead from the front with what ??
 
Somebody should ask him the meaning of the phrase leading from the front.

Him, Naseem and Rauf are the undisputed No.1 reason behind Pakistan's overall poor performances if we look with a critical eye.
 
After the first ODI, if you heard the post-match comments, it almost felt like the players had already decided they were going to bat first in the second game because there wouldn’t be any dew. Seriously, how do you even know that beforehand? You show up on match day, assess the pitch, check the forecast, and then make your call. That’s how real teams do it.

Shaheen is still a new captain, and it seems like he’s listening a bit too much to his batters. Sure, take inputs, but the captain has to lead and make the right call on the day. Cricket is played on the ground that day, not based on what someone said after the last match.

And then there’s Hesson. What a disaster. The man looks like he’s lost his mind with all the random changes, backing failed players, and his obsession with bits-and-pieces cricketers. It’s like he’s on a mission to make Pakistan cricket look like a comedy show. The sooner we get rid of Talat, the better. Usman, Haris, Khushdil, and Talat have proven time and again that they just don’t belong at this level, yet Hesson keeps circling back to the same group of players instead of moving forward.

Honestly, I could do a better job coaching this side. Hesson is a clown, and anyone backing him clearly has no clue how a proper setup is built. Wasim Junior, on the other hand, seems to be locked away in Hesson’s dungeon, completely ignored for reasons only Hesson knows. Instead of giving him a proper chance, Hesson keeps recycling the same old names that have failed repeatedly.

This has turned into a full-on circus. Aaqib, Hesson, and Naqvi need to step down before they drag Pakistan cricket to new lows. Too many changes, too many experiments, and absolutely no direction. It’s embarrassing now.
 
For Shaheen to truly succeed as Pakistan’s ODI captain, both Aaqib and Hesson need to go. He needs a proper coach and selector who can guide him, not control him. Otherwise, Shaheen won’t be able to grow or learn on the job and become a better captain. He should be allowed to make his own decisions, take inputs when needed, but ultimately trust his instincts, select his own XI and back what he sees and feels during the game, not just follow orders. Hopefully, he’s not a puppet and will gradually gain full control. But for that to happen, Aaqib and Hesson must be shown the door. They’d fit better in a circus anyway, that’s one place where they might actually excel.
 
Caved12 said:
For Shaheen to truly succeed as Pakistan’s ODI captain, both Aaqib and Hesson need to go. He needs a proper coach and selector who can guide him, not control him. Otherwise, Shaheen won’t be able to grow or learn on the job and become a better captain. He should be allowed to make his own decisions, take inputs when needed, but ultimately trust his instincts, select his own XI and back what he sees and feels during the game, not just follow orders. Hopefully, he’s not a puppet and will gradually gain full control. But for that to happen, Aaqib and Hesson must be shown the door. They’d fit better in a circus anyway, that’s one place where they might actually excel.
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I think he is allowed to take his own decisions. He doesn't look like a person who won't have his say in to the matters.
 
hassan918 said:
I think he is allowed to take his own decisions. He doesn't look like a person who won't have his say in to the matters.
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Lmao, these guys literally got rid of Gary and Gillespie just so Aaqib could run things like a dictator. There have been way too many changes, playing XI, squad selections, captains switching every few months, it’s chaos. They even announced that selectors would be the ones deciding the playing XI, and now there’s zero clarity on who’s actually doing it. On top of that, we’ve got three different captains for three formats, and you really think they’ll let Shaheen make his own decisions or dictate terms? Sorry, but it doesn’t seem like you’ve been paying much attention to what’s actually been happening in Pakistan cricket over the past few years.
 
Caved12 said:
For Shaheen to truly succeed as Pakistan’s ODI captain, both Aaqib and Hesson need to go. He needs a proper coach and selector who can guide him, not control him. Otherwise, Shaheen won’t be able to grow or learn on the job and become a better captain. He should be allowed to make his own decisions, take inputs when needed, but ultimately trust his instincts, select his own XI and back what he sees and feels during the game, not just follow orders. Hopefully, he’s not a puppet and will gradually gain full control. But for that to happen, Aaqib and Hesson must be shown the door. They’d fit better in a circus anyway, that’s one place where they might actually excel.
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There are few better head coaches than Hesson in cricket. How is Hesson not a proper coach? He let Baz lead the team like he wanted to. Our players may not be bright enough tactically.
 
BunnyRabbit said:
There are few better head coaches than Hesson in cricket. How is Hesson not a proper coach? He let Baz lead the team like he wanted to. Our players may not be bright enough tactically.
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I can say a lot about his time in New Zealand, who was actually running that team and what really led to their success. I could write plenty on that, but it feels pointless since that’s all history now and I’m not particularly interested in revisiting it.

I’d rather judge Hesson on what he’s doing here as Pakistan’s coach. I’ve already written hundreds of detailed posts on this forum about what I think he’s been doing wrong and how things are unfolding. You can agree or disagree, it seems like you disagree and that’s perfectly fine. That’s all I’ll say instead of repeating the same points again.
 
Caved12 said:
I can say a lot about his time in New Zealand, who was actually running that team and what really led to their success. I could write plenty on that, but it feels pointless since that’s all history now and I’m not particularly interested in revisiting it.

I’d rather judge Hesson on what he’s doing here as Pakistan’s coach. I’ve already written hundreds of detailed posts on this forum about what I think he’s been doing wrong and how things are unfolding. You can agree or disagree, it seems like you disagree and that’s perfectly fine. That’s all I’ll say instead of repeating the same points again.
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Hesson has a solid resume for a coach and doesn't need to prove anything. I am more interested to see as to why he is unable to assemble a cohort of 20 individuals for LOIs who can transform into a top side. How much blame can be put to the selection committee and the man keeping a stranglehold on Pak Cricket since last year (Aqib Javed). It's not like Hesson's out of touch, he won PSL title last year. Connect the dots and fix the cause. Its the development and domestic cricket that provides raw undercooked players that look like fish out of water once they reach the international standard (ie Huraira,Jahandad etc)
Hesson has enough steel in him to choose the players he wants for specific roles and develop them into them. It's the failure of domestic system that we have only been producing one dimensional players.
 
Hesson is a poor coach who clearly has no clue how Pakistan cricket works or how to deal with players here. The first thing any coach needs to do is build an environment where players feel respected and backed by the board and that’s exactly what’s missing right now. Every country is different, and you can’t just copy-paste what worked in New Zealand, Australia, or England. Those systems are stable, structured, and corruption-free. Coaching them is easy compared to Pakistan, where you constantly have to manage sensitive situations and handle players carefully.

Hesson has already exposed himself by agreeing to work with people like Aaqib and Naqvi, the same ones who chased away coaches like Gillespie and Gary. Both of them left because they refused to deal with the kind of politics and corruption that’s now running the show. These guys have completely messed things up, changing captains, squads, and XIs every other series like it’s some kind of lucky draw. You can’t build a stable team that way.

Players like Haris, Khushdil, Talat, and Usman have had more than enough chances. I said long ago that Haris is a tulla player, someone who just doesn’t care about building an innings or improving his game. Once management finally saw that, they dropped him. But instead of admitting their mistakes and bringing back Rizwan, they brought in Usman, another failed experiment.

The issue isn’t Rizwan. It’s Hesson, Aaqib, and Naqvi. They’re running the team with personal agendas, punishing players who speak up or don’t fit their flawed ideas. You can’t talk about “zero tolerance” when the board itself is full of favoritism and corruption. Clean your own house first before acting like you’re setting standards for others.

Hesson is just following Aaqib’s chaotic “template” — constant chopping and changing, random experiments, and buzzwords like “modern cricket” to cover up poor planning. Replacing proven players with bits-and-pieces players and tulla batters has been a total joke.

I’ve already written detailed posts explaining all this, and everything I said has turned out to be right. But some people here still keep defending this setup blindly. If you want to disagree, fine but bring proper arguments and name your replacements.
 
One thing a lot of casual fans online don’t seem to understand is that trying a player based on PSL or domestic performances is fine, But once you’ve seen enough at the international level to realize that the batter has a poor technique, no footwork, and is basically just a slogger, there’s no point in persisting with him.

Some of you think that if you just keep giving such players more chances, they’ll somehow transform into proper batters. That’s not how cricket works. When someone clearly lacks the fundamentals to survive at this level, the smart move is to move on, not to waste time hoping for a miracle.

Haris is the perfect example. So many people were blindly defending him and the ones who picked him, but even his biggest backers eventually lost faith. It was almost comical how Salman, Naqvi, and Aaqib talked him up like he was the next big thing, only to drop him right after the Asia Cup. Why? Because they finally realized what was obvious to many from the start, he’s a limited player who refuses to learn or improve with time.
 
Caved12 said:
Hesson is a poor coach who clearly has no clue how Pakistan cricket works or how to deal with players here. The first thing any coach needs to do is build an environment where players feel respected and backed by the board and that’s exactly what’s missing right now. Every country is different, and you can’t just copy-paste what worked in New Zealand, Australia, or England. Those systems are stable, structured, and corruption-free. Coaching them is easy compared to Pakistan, where you constantly have to manage sensitive situations and handle players carefully.

Hesson has already exposed himself by agreeing to work with people like Aaqib and Naqvi, the same ones who chased away coaches like Gillespie and Gary. Both of them left because they refused to deal with the kind of politics and corruption that’s now running the show. These guys have completely messed things up, changing captains, squads, and XIs every other series like it’s some kind of lucky draw. You can’t build a stable team that way.

Players like Haris, Khushdil, Talat, and Usman have had more than enough chances. I said long ago that Haris is a tulla player, someone who just doesn’t care about building an innings or improving his game. Once management finally saw that, they dropped him. But instead of admitting their mistakes and bringing back Rizwan, they brought in Usman, another failed experiment.

The issue isn’t Rizwan. It’s Hesson, Aaqib, and Naqvi. They’re running the team with personal agendas, punishing players who speak up or don’t fit their flawed ideas. You can’t talk about “zero tolerance” when the board itself is full of favoritism and corruption. Clean your own house first before acting like you’re setting standards for others.

Hesson is just following Aaqib’s chaotic “template” — constant chopping and changing, random experiments, and buzzwords like “modern cricket” to cover up poor planning. Replacing proven players with bits-and-pieces players and tulla batters has been a total joke.

I’ve already written detailed posts explaining all this, and everything I said has turned out to be right. But some people here still keep defending this setup blindly. If you want to disagree, fine but bring proper arguments and name your replacements.
Click to expand...

There's a reason why Hesson doesn't get many international gigs. I was surprised Pakistan hired this guy. He seems more suited to franchise coaching. It explains why he is so interested in bits and pieces players.

2 things that really made me feel Hesson was an amateur:

1) When he was whining about BD pitches. Major coaches generally don't whine about pitches. Whining is generally done by media and fans.
2) He called M Nawaz the best spinner in the world. Seriously? LOL.
 
It’s honestly too much work and I don’t have the time to compile it all, but can someone please share detailed information on all the changes Pakistan has made in the last 12 months? I’m talking about everything, squad changes, playing XI changes, and the constant shuffling in the batting and bowling order from game to game. I’m certain that once you see it all laid out, it’ll boggle your mind and make you seriously question the direction this team is heading in.

Yes, I know Pakistan will never become a consistently winning side overnight, not with the corruption, favouritism, and weak domestic structure that keep holding us back while other nations move forward. But that doesn’t mean you stop getting the basics right. At the very least, there should be a proper plan to make small improvements and to build an environment where players feel respected, valued, and united under one long-term captain, someone they trust and play for with full commitment.

Right now, Pakistan cricket has become a complete joke. It’s honestly disgusting to see how the PCB is operating. I have zero support for these clowns running the show or for anyone blindly defending every decision they make.
 
sweep_shot said:
There's a reason why Hesson doesn't get many international gigs. I was surprised Pakistan hired this guy. He seems more suited to franchise coaching. It explains why he is so interested in bits and pieces players.

2 things that really made me feel Hesson was an amateur:

1) When he was whining about BD pitches. Major coaches generally don't whine about pitches. Whining is generally done by media and fans.
2) He called M Nawaz the best spinner in the world. Seriously? LOL.
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The list goes on, brother and I’m sure you could easily add ten more examples here.

Even when it comes to franchise cricket, has Hesson ever actually won an IPL title? I don’t follow the IPL closely, but from what I’ve read, most of his decisions there, especially around team selection and player management didn’t really work out either.

Anyway, I can only judge him based on what he’s doing right now with the Pakistan team, and so far his approach just looks confused. He keeps talking about playing “modern cricket,” yet the results are completely opposite. The dot-ball percentage keeps going up, there’s no visible intent to play at higher strike rates, and ironically, the players who used to score at a decent pace are now batting with the lowest strike rates of their careers.

And remind me, did he ever win an ICC trophy with New Zealand? Because the way some people talk about him, you’d think he’s an all-time great coach.
 
Caved12 said:
The list goes on, brother and I’m sure you could easily add ten more examples here.

Even when it comes to franchise cricket, has Hesson ever actually won an IPL title? I don’t follow the IPL closely, but from what I’ve read, most of his decisions there, especially around team selection and player management didn’t really work out either.

Anyway, I can only judge him based on what he’s doing right now with the Pakistan team, and so far his approach just looks confused. He keeps talking about playing “modern cricket,” yet the results are completely opposite. The dot-ball percentage keeps going up, there’s no visible intent to play at higher strike rates, and ironically, the players who used to score at a decent pace are now batting with the lowest strike rates of their careers.

And remind me, did he ever win an ICC trophy with New Zealand? Because the way some people talk about him, you’d think he’s an all-time great coach.
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Here is his coaching career: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Hesson#Coaching_career. Seems like a controversial figure. Had an issue with Ross Taylor before. Also, he tends to resign abruptly as he did with Kenya and New Zealand.

He has never won any trophy as a coach. Not even at franchise level.

I find him amateurish and disruptive.
 
M

Thread '14/4 in the powerplay against New Zealand in first T20I! I thought Pakistan were to become world beaters after dropping Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam'

14/4 in the Power Play is the 2nd worst for Pakistan.

We were told around here how Babar and Rizwan are making this team weak and not allowing us reach our true potential. World beaters like Haris were being kept out etc.

Pakistan were 1/3. At one point even I was confused whether the scoring format had been changed.

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Here’s the link to the thread where I’ve written several detailed posts breaking down everything that’s gone wrong, from the team’s direction to the clueless approach taken by these clowns. Pages 12 and 13, in particular, give a clear picture of the mistakes they’re making and outline the approach the PCB should be taking to start steering things back on track. In many other threads as well, I’ve exposed this clown coach Hesson, along with Aaqib and Naqvi, for all their nonsense, favoritism, and endless drama.
 
sweep_shot said:
Here is his coaching career: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Hesson#Coaching_career. Seems like a controversial figure. Had an issue with Ross Taylor before. Also, he tends to resign abruptly as he did with Kenya and New Zealand.

He has never won any trophy as a coach. Not even at franchise level.

I find him amateurish and disruptive.
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So basically, we’ve got a coach who has never achieved anything significant and seems to believe that constantly chopping and changing players, throwing in bits and pieces cricketers, will somehow lead to success by accident. Hesson hides behind fancy buzzwords that sound modern but mean nothing when your players aren’t equipped to play the so called “modern style” of cricket. In reality, Hesson has been a terrible coach, all talk, no results.
 
Shaheen looks top class in 1 game and then he looks like the worst bowler in the very next game... He should focus on his bowling more.. Cannot have a captain who calls himself premium but his performance is like 3rd copy from China.
 
Big day for SSA, losing a series against SA ½ on home soil doesn't look good on CV.
 
I dont think there ever been a captain that tries to lead from the back lol.

Pakistani captains and their love for cliches.

Leading from the front and than the aggressive mindset comments
 
Shaheen looks like a deer in the headlights.

His captaincy stint is going to end really badly
 
Pakistan has always had pretty reactive captains from Inzy and onwards. I suppose Younis would have been the one exception
 
topspin said:
Misbah did. A good example of this was mentioned a few mins ago by @Rana :

He could not read Joginder.
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That's really dishonest. There are a lot of matches you can point to misbah but not this one.

Dragging a team to brink of victory with enough balls left cannot be a failure to read anything. And there have been lots of batsmen who have got out in paddle hit like he did, that's nothing to do with inability to read the bowler.

In fact he was one of the first Pakistani batsmen to try these innovative shots which now all teans are doing and current Pak batsmen are too scared to try.
 
he is still playing the 3 wickets in t20 in 2021 T20 WC...got bashed around in BBL, just cashing in his susr relations with PCB, he doesnt deserve a place in 15 ,,,let alone 11
 
Needs dropping. Gun barrel straight bowling is easy to handle for any international batsmen.
Ball hasn't swung for anyone this tournament so you have to have variations in your armoury of which he has none.
 
Lead from the front? With this form he can only learn from the front, or should that be behind?
 
Hype machine nothing else he regressed badly and exposed after that 2022 WC injury
 
His time is done. Pakistan really messed up by naming him ODI captain

They need to move on from him post t20 wc
 
This clown is the worst premier bowler and has been out-bowled by everyone else. Going at 11.22 economy rate for the tournament. Leading from the front, yes.
 
getting phainty pretty much every game nowadays, time to invest in mirza, maybe zaman khan can also make a comeback into the side
 
It's a bit poetic that Shaheen got hammered the way he did on this ground, because this ground is also where he last looked like a real world-class fast-bowler. 3 years ago, against the same opposition when he ripped out India's top-order in that rain-affected no-result on another tacky pitch where it had rained the night before. That also may have been the last time Pakistan's pace attack looked like a genuinely dangerous pace-attack. That reserve day match really is such a weird watershed turning-point. None of Pakistan's fast-bowlers have been the same since that match where they beaten black and blue by India's top 4 over the course of two days.
 
I am strong believer of if you take someone’s right, you will get humiliated in this world.
Shaheen, shadab and babar only in team because of strings they can pull which means someone more deserving is not given their right. May they be humiliated beyond recognition soon. Earning haram income by taking someone’s else right.
 
Yeah I'm leading from front by leaking runs against associates

What a clown this guy is
 
Dude has been straight up cannon fodder for the best part of 4 years, why’s he still around?

Shame he peaked at 21 and refuses to acknowledge he’s lost a yard of pace and work his issues out in an off season instead of chasing quick bucks playing in random leagues
 
Concerned said:
Quickly taken Hassan Ali route
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Hassan Ali at least had a good 5 year run- was the best ODI bowler in the world at a point, won us the CT which is the only ICC event we’ll likely see the Pakistan team win in our lifetimes and won us 2 tests against SA. It’s a farce to compare him to Shaheen who had a 3 year peak where he was smacked around on every major overseas test tour and that India spell being largely the only memorable moment.

Shaheen is twice as gifted as Hassan so it really is a shame he probably leaked 70% as high. For Pakistan’s sake, I hope he’s dropped and gets that pace back. It would be a shame if the most gifted bower we’ve produced since Wasim goes out this sorry.
 
Chip32 said:
Hassan Ali at least had a good 5 year run- was the best ODI bowler in the world at a point, won us the CT which is the only ICC event we’ll likely see the Pakistan team win in our lifetimes and won us 2 tests against SA. It’s a farce to compare him to Shaheen who had a 3 year peak where he was smacked around on every major overseas test tour and that India spell being largely the only memorable moment.

Shaheen is twice as gifted as Hassan so it really is a shame he probably leaked 70% as high. For Pakistan’s sake, I hope he’s dropped and gets that pace back. It would be a shame if the most gifted bower we’ve produced since Wasim goes out this sorry.
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True, Hassan Ali has achieved more despite Shaheen having higher ceiling.

However, both declined at a rapid rate which is unusual.
 
Corrected

"I always try to lead from the front (in the losing cause)": Shaheen Shah Afridi
 
He did lead from the front tonight with a heroic spell. Almost won it for Pakistan but Henry Brooks and other plans.
 
Got smashed again towards the end and was quite frankly lucky with his wickets today. More often than not will get carted around like a club bowler. His pace has dropped alarmingly and quite frankly he’s finished and should retire
 
Don't get fooled by his today performance

He is a liability and needs to be removed from team
 
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