Shahid Afridi: “If you are talking about removing Babar as a player, then do you have someone like him? Do we have a player capable of replacing [Mohammad] Rizwan? [This] type of talk [is] done when you have a strong bench”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan power-hitter Shahid Afridi doesn’t see anyone capable of replacing limited overs captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan.
His remarks came in response to speculation that eight to nine players could be dropped from the team following the men in green’s disastrous 2024 T20 World Cup campaign.
However, Afridi pointed out that Pakistan don’t have “a strong bench”, which will make it incredibly hard to put together a whole new team.
“We have been hearing much these days that eight to nine players will be removed [from the team], it does not happen like that. You remove eight to nine players when you have that many boys waiting [for their chance]. If you are talking about removing Babar as a player, then do you have someone like him? Do we have a player capable of replacing [Mohammad] Rizwan? [This] type of talk [is] done when you have a strong bench,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam captained Pakistan in the T20 World Cup and amassed 122 runs in four matches at an average of 40.66 and a strike-rate of 101.66.
Rizwan, meanwhile, made 110 runs in four games, which included a top score of 53 not out, at an average of 36.66 and a strike-rate of 90.90.
The men in green started off with back-to-back losses to the United States of America and India before claiming wins over Canada and Ireland.
Despite ending the group stage on a high, they failed to advance to the Super Eights.
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
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