The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi as the new captain of the men's ODI team. The announcement was made on October 20, 2025, just weeks before Pakistan's home series against South Africa of three ODIs in Faisalabad from November 4 to 8. Afridi takes over from Mohammad Rizwan, who has been inexplicably dismissed from his post. PCB, in a statement, revealed that the discussion regarding Afridi's selection carried on exhaustively among the selection committee members, Aqib Javed (Director High Performance), and Mike Hesson, the head coach of Pakistan's white-ball side. The meeting was held last Saturday to clarify the leadership mechanism within the team in preparation for an extensive international schedule. Rizwan's Mixed Record as ODI Captain Mohammad Rizwan took up the captaincy last year and began well with series wins over South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Australia. Recently, however, his captaincy has come under scrutiny following some embarrassingly poor displays. Pakistan lost 2-1 to West Indies under Rizwan, lost in the home tri-series final to New Zealand, and went out early in the Champions Trophy. But through all this, Rizwan continues to be one of Pakistan's top performers having scored 361 runs this year in ODIs, second only to the team's highest run-getter in ODIs in 2025. Also Read | Josh Hazlewood Wants Perth-Type Pitch for Ashes Opener Afridi's Second Stint as Skipper Shaheen Afridi, who has represented Pakistan in 66 ODIs and taken 131 wickets to date, will again get the chance to lead the side. He had earlier captained Pakistan in T20Is, including the five-match series against New Zealand in early 2024, which ended with at 2-2. Afridi was, however, replaced before the T20 World Cup 2024 following Pakistan's poor run in T20s. The ODI captaincy appointment is a big chance to revive Afridi's leadership reputation. The 25-year-old fast bowler will be keen to steer Pakistan towards stability and consistency as they build towards the ODI World Cup 2027. Afridi Could Regain T20I Captaincy Too? The PCB's recent decision could mean more general reshuffles in leadership for all formats. Current T20I skipper, Salman Agha, has been in the firing line for Pakistan's disastrous Asia Cup 2025 as they lost thrice to India, including the agonizing defeat in the final. Given the renewed trust in Afridi from the Board and his past leadership record, speculation is rife that the T20I captaincy might soon return to his grasp. With the series against South Africa only weeks away now, all eyes will be on Afridi as he takes Pakistan's ODI side. His leadership in the next few series will be crucial to short-term results of Pakistan and to his long-term involvement in leading the national side across the formats.