Shahid Afridi: “It’s not only his mistake or responsibility. The management also has the responsibility, they are so much more senior. They need to make the players understand the style of cricket they expect from them”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan power-hitter Shahid Afridi said it is unfair to only blame captain Babar Azam when the national team goes through bad times.
He noted that the management should also be held responsible as they are also involved in the planning and selection process.
On top of this, they also have a say in “the style of cricket” the men in green should play.
“It’s not only his mistake or responsibility. The management also has the responsibility, they are so much more senior. They need to make the players understand the style of cricket they expect from them,” Afridi was quoted as saying by Cricwick.
There has been a lot of speculation surrounding Azam’s captaincy after Pakistan’s horrendous home season, which began with a 3-0 Test series whitewash at the hands of England. They then played two Tests against New Zealand, both of which ended as a draw. As for the three-match ODI series that followed, Pakistan lost 2-1.
Despite all the rumours, it remains to be seen if the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will adopt a split captaincy or potentially remove Azam as captain completely.
Azam will now shift his attention to the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he will lead the Peshawar Zalmi after being traded to them from the Karachi Kings in exchange for Haider Ali and Shoaib Malik.
The Zalmi will kickstart their campaign against the Kings on February 14 in Karachi.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 8:Â Babar Azam, Rovman Powell, Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka), Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Sherfane Rutherford, Wahab Riaz, Arshad Iqbal, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Haris, Aamer Jamal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Saim Ayub, Salman Irshad, Usman Qadir, Haseebullah Khan, Sufyan Muqeem, James Neesham, Khurram Shahzad, Haris Sohail and Richard Gleeson