Shaheen Afridi replaced Mohammad Rizwan, left, as Pakistan ODI captain. Getty Images
Shaheen Afridi replaced Mohammad Rizwan, left, as Pakistan ODI captain. Getty Images
Shaheen Afridi replaced Mohammad Rizwan, left, as Pakistan ODI captain. Getty Images
Shaheen Afridi replaced Mohammad Rizwan, left, as Pakistan ODI captain. Getty Images

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Cricket

Shaheen Afridi named Pakistan ODI captain as leadership saga continues

Left-arm pacer replaces Mohammad Rizwan ahead of South Africa ODIs

The National

October 21, 2025

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Pakistan have made yet another change to their cricket team leadership with fast bowler Shaheen Afridi named captain for next month's three-match ODI series against South Africa.

It marked a third change in the format's captaincy in the past 12 months.

Left-arm pacer Afridi replaced wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan, who had taken over as ODI skipper last October following Babar Azam's resignation.

The Pakistan Cricket Board said Afridi's appointment was made after a meeting in Islamabad.

"A meeting of the selection committee, also attended by Pakistan's white-ball head coach Mike Hesson, decided that Shaheen will lead Pakistan's ODI side against South Africa," said a PCB release.

The three-match ODI series between Pakistan and South Africa will be played on November 4, 6 and 8 in Faisalabad.

Rizwan started off well as ODI skipper with a 2-1 series win, Pakistan's first in Australia in 22 years, in November 2024.

Pakistan then handed South Africa their first 3-0 home whitewash and won 2-1 in Zimbabwe.

But this year Pakistan lost the home tri-series final to New Zealand before crashing out of the Champions Trophy in the first round in February in the UAE.

Rizwan's worst came in the West Indies where Pakistan lost 2-1 - their first series loss in the Caribbean for 34 years.

Afridi previously led Pakistan in five T20 Internationals in New Zealand in January last year but was relieved of the role after a 4-1 defeat.

It marks yet another leadership change in Pakistan's cricket over the last two seasons. It all started after a disappointing 2023 ODI World Cup. Star batter Babar resigned from the captaincy of all formats in November 2023 with Shan Masood named Test skipper and Afridi the T20 captain.

But in March last year, Afridi was removed as T20 skipper with Babar returning for a short stint at the World Cup.

Then in October last year, Babar made way for Rizwan as white-ball captain. This year, Salman Agha took over as the T20 team leader while Afridi was handed the reins of the ODI side.

Rizwan has been Pakistan's second highest run-scorer in ODIs this year with 361 runs. Afridi has taken 131 wickets in 66 ODIs.

Amid the turmoil, Masood has retained his Test captaincy. The results have been positive for Pakistan, winning four out of the last five Test matches at home, having earlier failed to win in 11 games in their own backyard.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

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The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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