Shahid Afridi on Babar Azam: “The selection committee appointing him as captain again was a wrong decision. And it was also Babar’s wrong decision to take the captaincy again”
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Former Pakistan power-hitter Shahid Afridi believes Babar Azam shouldn’t have accepted the captaincy again.
Azam stepped down as captain in all three formats in November 2023, but was reappointed to lead in limited overs cricket in March 2024.
Not only does Afridi blame the 29-year-old for his decision, but he also held the selection committee responsible for bringing him back as skipper.
“The selection committee appointing him as captain again was a wrong decision. And it was also Babar’s wrong decision to take the captaincy again,” he was quoted as saying by respected journalist Saj Sadiq on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam recently captained Pakistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup and finished as the team’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 lost to the United States of America and India before rebounding to beat Canada and Ireland.
Even though they ended the group stage with a 2-2 record, Pakistan were unable to make it through 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