'Should've Supported Shaheen and Said No': Shahid Afridi Says Babar Azam Should've Rejected 2nd Captaincy Stint

Pakistan suffered a group-stage exit in the T20 World Cup 2024. (AP)

Pakistan are set to play their final game, a dead-rubber contest against Ireland in the T20 World Cup 2024. It will bring an end to a disappointing campaign for the 2009 champions. Still, the spotlight will be on the skipper Babar Azam and one of the biggest figures in Pakistan’s rich history, Shahid Afridi has slammed the current captain for not delivering in the T20 showpiece event.

Babar Azam was handed a second stint of captaincy after Pakistan suffered a shocking premature exit in the ODI World Cup 2023. He was announced as the white-ball skipper before the T20 World Cup removing Shaheen Afridi from the role after only one T20I series against New Zealand.

Shahid Afridi suggested that rather than Babar taking back the role as the leader, he should have respected the PCB’s decision to appoint Shaheen previously and proceeded under his leadership to set a great example for the other team members on the side.

When Shaheen was appointed as the T20 skipper, the PCB revealed that they would be relying on Shaheen to lead the side for the ongoing T20 World Cup. Still, they decided to change their decision after the side suffered a 4-1 defeat to a second or third-string New Zealand side that lacked many major stars.

“If the move regarding Shaheen’s captaincy had been made and the PCB stated that he would 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 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, I will support him and play under his captaincy. This is the stance Babar should’ve taken,” Afridi suggested on his YouTube channel.

He believes Babar’s act of accepting Shaheen as the captain would have garnered a lot of respect which would have further aided his cause. “Babar’s respect would’ve increased greatly that he has set an example with a remarkable decision,” Afridi said.

But the former Pakistan captain also highlighted that the current captaincy drama is not to be blamed on Babar but rather the selection committee considering that some of them have gone on record to claim that Babar might be clueless regarding how to lead a side.

“But this was not entirely the fault of Babar because some of the blame lies with the selection committee too since some of the selectors on record said that Babar doesn’t know how to do captaincy.”

Nevertheless, Pakistan will look to close their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign on a positive as they aim to take down Ireland in their final group-stage game taking place at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida.

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