Shahid Afridi: “The mindset of the captain needs to be changed. Management needs to change the mindset, they need to demand a certain style of cricket from the captain and his team”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Iconic Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi said captain Babar Azam has to change his mindset when it comes to the way he leads the team.
He noted that if the management wants a certain style of cricket to be played, they have to inform Azam and he will pass it on to the rest of the players.
This comes after Pakistan endured a dismal home season, where they lost 3-0 in their Test series to England, while both their Test matches against New Zealand ended as a draw. In the three-match ODI series against the Black Caps, the men in green were beaten 2-1.
“The mindset of the captain needs to be changed. Management needs to change the mindset, they need to demand a certain style of cricket from the captain and his team,” Afridi was quoted as saying by Cricwick.
Since Pakistan failed to beat England and New Zealand, there has been growing speculation that Azam won’t captain the national team in all three formats anymore. While nothing has been confirmed thus far, it has been reported that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) want to split the captaincy.
In the meantime, Azam will lead the Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which will be held from February 13 to March 19 in Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi.
The 28-year-old was traded to the Zalmi from the Karachi Kings in return for Haider Ali and Shoaib Malik.
In fact, the Zalmi’s opening match will be 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