Rashid Latif: “Shaheen was treated unfairly and so was Babar”
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Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Rashid Latif feels Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi have both been “treated unfairly” following the latest captaincy saga.
In the latest chapter of changes made to the leadership role, Azam returned as limited overs captain, while Afridi was removed as T20I skipper after only one series in charge.
Afridi captained the men in green in their five-match T20I series against New Zealand in January 2024, which the men in green lost 4-1.
Following the team’s underwhelming performance, speculation started to pick up about the 24-year-old’s future as captain.
Eventually, Azam regained the white-ball captaincy after stepping down from the leadership role in all three formats following the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Given all the chopping and changing that has happened, Latif admitted that both Azam and Afridi were the victims of unfair treatment.
“Shaheen was treated unfairly and so was Babar,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Afridi recently led the Lahore Qalandars in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and took 14 wickets in nine matches at an average of 22.14 and an economy rate of 8.61.
Azam, meanwhile, was in charge of the Peshawar Zalmi and finished as the highest run-scorer in PSL 9 with 569 runs in 11 games, which included a century and five fifties, at an average of 56.90 and a strike-rate of 142.60.
Pakistan are now playing a five-match T20I series against New Zealand and Azam has made 51 runs in three games at an average of 25.50 and a strike-rate of 121.42.
As for Afridi, he has snapped up four wickets in three games at an average of 12.50 and an economy rate of 7.31.
The series is tied at 1-1 ahead of the fourth T20I, which will be played in Lahore on April 25.
Pakistan Squad for New Zealand T20I Series: Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usama Mir, Usman Khan, Zaman Khan
Non-travelling reserves: Haseebullah Khan, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha
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