London, July 17: Salman Butt will take over the Pakistan captaincy from Shahid Afridi for next week’s second and final Test against Australia at Headingley, Pakistan tour manager Yawar Saeed said on Saturday.
Insiders say that Afridi’s abrupt decision came after he had a heated debate with the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt. According to sources, a ‘group’ in the team was conspiring to replace Afridi with opener Butt. When the matter reached Ejaz, he enquired about the issue from the skipper leading to a squabble between the two. The war of words with PCB chief left Afridi disgruntled following which he decided to quit Test captaincy, the Nation reports.
Saeed revealed Afridi, who has been struggling with a side strain, had been released from the Test squad and so would not play at Headingley, in Leeds, northern England, where the Australia finale starts on Wednesday.
Saeed added Butt, currently the vice-captain of the team, would also lead Pakistan in their subsequent four Test series against England, starting at Trent Bridge on July 29.