Basit Ali: “The report is being prepared against Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan that they have formed a separate group, which is wrong. Don’t put your blame on the others. Otherwise, Pakistan cricket will be destroyed”
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Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali is genuinely concerned that left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan will be blamed for all the problems the national team is encountering at the moment.
He is worried that the report being prepared will hold the duo accountable for forming “a separate group” and exonerate limited overs captain Babar Azam of any wrongdoing.
Basit noted that if this happens, it will firstly be plain wrong and secondly, it will lead to the destruction of Pakistan cricket.
“The report is being prepared against Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan that they have formed a separate group, which is wrong. Don’t put your blame on the others. Otherwise, Pakistan cricket will be destroyed,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
“I’m saying this now because if it happens, then it’s your mistake. If you think that Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, and Babar Azam are not on the same pitch, then you remove them altogether. Don’t just blame the other two and mark the third one as a hero. It will be wrong.”
Afridi and Rizwan both played in the 2024 T20 World Cup, with the former taking five wickets in four matches at an average of 21 and an economy rate of 6.56.
As for Rizwan, he 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.
Azam, meanwhile, was Pakistan’s highest run-scorer with 122 runs in four matches at an average of 40.66 and a strike-rate of 101.66.
The men in green began their campaign with successive losses to the United States of America and India before bouncing back to beat Canada and Ireland.
Even though they ended the group stage on a high, Pakistan 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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