Amid reports that all is not well in the Pakistani dressing room after an altercation between Pakistan captain Babar Azam and Prime Minister Shaheen Shah Afridi, a photo of the players has emerged.
Shaheen Shah Afridi on Tuesday shared a picture on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) in which both players are sitting opposite each other and a chess board is kept on the table.
Earlier reports appeared on Sama TV and Bull News that Babar Azam was upset after losing to Sri Lanka and failing to qualify for the Isa Cup final and in his speech in the team’s dressing room, he called out the players for their poor performance while saying that “Pakistan has never looked like the No. 1 player in ODI,” Babar Azam also reportedly warned the players, saying: “Zyada superstar na Bane (Stop yourselves to be stars). If you lose the World Cup, no one will consider you a big star.” The report also added that Shaheen Afridi interrupted Babar and urged him to at least appreciate the players’ performance, but the skipper remained unfazed and urged the players to refocus on their performance. With the World Cup around.
Meanwhile, former Pakistan pacer Shahid Afridi said left-arm spinner Shaheen Shah Afridi appeared frustrated at not making early breakthroughs.
He said, “What we see is that against India, when he (Shaheen) did not achieve an early lead, he felt frustrated and angry with himself.”
“He always does this when he can’t get early wickets. “The thing is that in international cricket his main focus has to be on the line and length when they are in the right place, the wickets will come automatically,” Afridi said.
“He has a lot of cricket ahead of him and he has to plan his career properly,” he added.
The former cricketer said that Pakistan’s approach towards India was wrong. “Win or lose, that’s not a problem, but it’s your style that everyone is watching closely. The Pakistani approach was completely wrong,” he said.
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Updated: Sep 19, 2023, 06:39 PM IST
