Pakistan's cricket chief has blasted an "irresponsible" Shahid Afridi for creating confusion around the team captaincy and said the popular big-hitting all-rounder could face disciplinary action.
Afridi, who led Pakistan in the third and final one-day international against Australia after regular captain Misbah-ul Haq withdrew because of poor batting form, said a final decision should be made on who would lead the team.
"Misbah or me, whoever is to lead Pakistan in the World Cup he should know it now," Afridi said after Pakistan's one-run defeat which handed Australia a 3-0 series win in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan hit out at Afridi over the comments.
"Afridi's statement was irresponsible," Khan said on Tuesday.
"We are analysing his statement to decide whether he has violated PCB's code of conduct for an action."
Khan said Afridi's statement had created unnecessary doubt over the captaincy for next year's World Cup.
"I have told everyone, from Misbah to head coach Waqar Younis to chief selector and manager Moin Khan, that Misbah will lead Pakistan in the World Cup," said Khan.
The PCB chief also pulled Afridi up on his form.
"Now people are saying Afridi should be the captain but although his bowling has improved his batting hasn't," said Khan.
"It's up to the selectors to judge and see does he (Afridi) deserve a place in the team," Khan said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan have called on uncapped legspinner Yasir Shah for their two-Test series with Australia, replacing the suspended Saeed Ajmal in a preliminary 19-man squad.
Shah, 28, was one of the leading wicket-takers in the domestic season last year, with 48 scalps, but had little success in one-dayers or the two Twenty20s he played on the tour of Zimbabwe three years ago.
He has yet to play a Test but chief selector Moin Khan said he expects Shah to deliver.
"Shah is one of the fast-rising spinners at the domestic level and we have hopes that he will come good against Australia," Khan told AFP.
The first Test begins in Dubai on October 22 and the second in Abu Dhabi on October 30.
Pakistan face a tough challenge to replace Ajmal, who has single-handedly anchored the team's wins across all three formats over the last five years.
Ajmal's bowling action was reported as suspect during the Galle Test in Sri Lanka in August. It was subsequently found to be illegal after biomechanic analysis in Australia which led to his suspension.
Squad: Misbah-ul Haq (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Talha, Rahat Ali, Imran Khan, Ehsan Adil, Ataullah, Sarfraz Ahmed, Zulfiqar Babar, Yasir Shah, Raza Hassan.
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