Former Pakistan cricket captain Shahid Afridi has criticized current captain Babar Azam for his poor performance in the T20 World Cup 2024 and suggested that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is showing favoritism towards him. Shahid Afridi believes that no other Pakistan captain has received as many opportunities as Babar Azam. Despite leading the team in many ICC and Asia Cup events, Babar has not won any major trophies.
Pakistan’s Early Exit from T20 World Cup Under Babar Azam’s Captaincy
Babar has been under scrutiny after Pakistan’s early exit from the T20 World Cup. Only Babar is not responsible for this loss. Babar is not only responsible for the poor performance; the whole team is also responsible for this poor performance. They lost to the USA and India in the group stage and did not qualify for the Super 8 stage. PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi has hinted at big changes, referring to them as a ‘major surgery’ for the team. The chief added that a major surgery is needed.
Last year, after a poor performance in the ODI World Cup, Babar stepped down as captain, and Shaheen Afridi took over as the T20I skipper. As we know, Babar is not only responsible for the performance of the whole team. At the same time, team performance depends on the early defeat of Pakistan in the World Cup. However, Shaheen was removed after just one series as he stepped down from his captaincy, and Naqvi reinstated Babar as the white-ball captain before the T20 World Cup.
Shahid Afridi’s Opens On PCB Decisions
Shahid Afridi, currently in England playing in the World Championship of Legends 2024, stated that Babar has been given more chances than any other captain. He said that Babar has got ample opportunities to prove himself. He suggested that the PCB should make a clear decision on the captain or coach and then give them enough time to prove themselves. As for himself, Younis Khan and Misbah ul Haq, as captains, have not given me a lot more chances than Babar Azam provided. It means that PCB showed favoritism towards Babar Azam.
Shahid Afridi said:
They should decide on the captain or the coach and give them time. Babar has had 2-3 World Cups and 2-3 Asia Cups. That’s enough opportunities.
The PCB recently removed former Test players Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq from its selection committee after the Pakistan team’s poor performance in the T20 World Cup. Shahid Afridi censures this decision and asks questions about it. Shahid Afridi criticized this decision, questioning why only these two were removed from a selection committee.
Shahid Afridi added:
I heard that only Abdul Razzaq and Wahab Riaz were removedd from the selection committee. If the committee has 6-7 people, why only these two?
This is the question that Afridi asked in his criticism paragraph.
Shahid Afridi was seen asking from PCB, whether there is a larger selection committee. It stated:
Why were only two people removed? They should also remove other people. As a captain, Babar Azam has provided a lot more chances than any other captain has. Is it not a favor of PCB towards Babar Azam?
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