Rizwan pays no heed to surroundings and focuses on his game, says former Pakistan skipper         (L-R) Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, former skipper Shahid Afridi and left-arm quick Shaheen Shah Afridi. — AFP/X/File

Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has declared wicketkeeper-cum-batsman Mohammad Rizwan his favourite for T20 captaincy instead of left-arm quick Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Afridi, while addressing an event in Australia, elaborated on Rizwan’s qualities as a "focused and hardworking player".

The legendary all-rounder said Rizwan paid no heed to his surroundings but to focus on his own game.

He smiled and said: “I want to see him [Rizwan] as the T20 captain but mistakenly, Shaheen became the skipper.”

Afridi's blunt comments sent waves of laughter through the crowd and the players on the stage including Rizwan, Harif Rauf, and Shaheen, did not go without a smile on their faces.

The lanky fast-bowler had replaced batting ace Babar Azam in the role in November. The 23-year-old bagged 64 wickets in 52 T20Is.

Shaheen had also led Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and has helped the side win the tournament twice in two years in the 2022 and 2023 editions.

It is not the first time that Afridi targeted Shaheen’s captaincy role. He had earlier revealed that he stopped Shaheen from accepting the Lahore Qalandars captaincy.

The 46-year-old former cricketer had advised his son-in-law to stay away from the captaincy role for a year or two in order to focus more on his bowling.