Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has come down heavily on embattled skipper Babar Azam for the team’s poor performance in the T20 World Cup, saying that he had been given enough opportunities to lead the side, and it was time for the PCB to take a call on his captaincy. Former champions Pakistan lost to newcomers USA and arch-rivals India to be eliminated in the group stage of the World Cup held in the USA and West Indies.
“Babar has got a full open chance to lead Pakistan. He has been given enough time to show his worth as captain. Now whatever surgery the PCB wants to do, they should take their decision,” Afridi told the media in Birmingham where he is taking part in the World Legends Championship.
“I have also captained Pakistan and so have Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq but whenever the team has performed badly in the World Cups, first thing the captain faces the knife (sic),” he said.
Babar has led Pakistan in four World Cups and two Asia Cups. Afridi also said that if the PCB decides to appoint a new skipper, he and the two new foreign coaches — Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie — should be given enough time to prove themselves.
“Whatever decision the PCB takes it should take but it should give time to the captain, coach and the system to work,” he added. The former skipper also disagreed with the Pakistan Cricket Board’s decision to sack national selectors Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq.
The two former Test players were removed from the selection committee in the wake of the team’s disastrous T20 World Cup campaign. “This surgery makes no sense to me… Sacking just two selectors,” said Afridi.
Afridi’s son-in-law, Shaheen Shah Afridi, has come under the scanner after a television channel claimed that the fast bowler was not at his best behaviour during the World Cup.
The channel claimed that white-ball coach Kirsten, in his report, had noted that Shaheen was not cooperative with the management and there was a general breakdown of discipline in the team. The channel also claimed that the PCB had been told that senior team manager, Wahab Riaz and manager Mansoor Rana ignored Shaheen’s behaviour and did not bother to talk to him about it.
There have also been accusations that Wahab and Razzaq even tried to pressure other selectors to pick some players who were not in form at that time.