Shahid Afridi Attacks Babar Azam for Reaccepting Pakistan’s Captaincy

Shahid Afridi, the former cricketer, reignited the discussion on Pakistan’s captaincy following the team’s disappointing exit from the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.

Shahid Afridi pointed out the mistakes made by the selectors and stated that Babar Azam should not have reclaimed the captaincy, offered by the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Notably, Babar Azam gave up all captaincy roles after the 2023 ODI World Cup, leading to Shan Masood being named Test captain and Shaheen Afridi assuming the T20I captaincy.

Expectations were high for Shaheen Afridi’s leadership, but Pakistan lost the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, and Shaheen also struggled as captain in the PSL.

Later, the selection committee reinstated Babar Azam as captain, a move that former cricketer Shahid Afridi criticized. Afridi believes Babar should have declined the role and instead supported Shaheen during this period.

Here’s what Shahid Afridi said on his YouTube channel:

“If the decision on Shaheen’s captaincy had been made and you (PCB) had stated that he will remain the captain till the (T20) World Cup, then I think Babar should have supported Shaheen there and should have said that, ‘No, if you have made him (Shaheen) the captain, then we are ready to play under his captaincy because Shaheen has been playing with me for a long time.’

“‘If he is made captain and the selection committee has made him the captain, then yes, I will support him and play under his captaincy’. This is the stance Babar should’ve taken. Babar’s respect would’ve increased greatly because he then would’ve set an example with a remarkable decision.”

Given that the Pakistan cricket team suffered early eliminations in two consecutive World Cups under the leadership of Babar Azam, it will be interesting to see if the Pakistan Cricket Board continues to stick with him as the captain of the white-ball cricket team.