PCB name Shaheen Shah Afridi vice-captain for Test series in Australia

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday named star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi as their vice-captain of the national Test team ahead of the series against Australia. The left-arm pacer, regarded as one of the most devastating fast bowlers in modern cricket, was named captain of Pakistan's T20I squad in November, succeeding outgoing skipper Babar Azam.

Afridi, who has represented Pakistan in all three formats of cricket, has played 27 Tests, 53 ODIs, and 52 T20Is. He will be the deputy to Shan Masood, who was named Pakistan's Test captain in November. Following Pakistan's disastrous performance in last



month's World Cup, where the green shirts under his leadership failed to qualify for the semifinal stages, Azam decided to step down from captaincy in all formats of the game.

"Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has been appointed vice-captain of the Pakistan Test Team for the series against Australia," the PCB said in a statement. "Earlier, Shaheen was also appointed captain of the Pakistan Men's T20 Cricket Team."

The statement did not specify whether Afridi would retain his position as vice-captain beyond the Australia series or whether the board would choose a new one as Masood's deputy.