Zaheer Abbas: “It is our own doing (the friction between Babar and Shaheen). We shouldn’t have messed around with the set-up”
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Legendary Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas believes the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are to blame for the rift that has formed between frontline batsman Babar Azam and pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi.
When Azam stepped down as captain in all three formats in November 2023, Afridi succeeded him as T20I skipper.
However, the 24-year-old was in charge for just one series before Azam returned as limited overs captain in March 2024.
The 30-year-old only lasted for around six months before stepping down from the leadership role.
Abbas noted that the PCB made a huge mistake by removing Afridi as captain and they are now paying the price for it.
“It is our own doing (the friction between Babar and Shaheen). We shouldn’t have messed around with the set-up,” he told PTI as quoted by NDTV.
Azam and Afridi both featured in Pakistan’s two-Test series against Bangladesh, which the men in green lost 2-0.
They were then involved in the Champions One-Day Cup, with Azam playing for the Stallions and Afridi captaining the Lions.
Afterwards, both players took part in the first Test against England, which Pakistan lost by an innings and 47 runs.
Azam and Afridi were subsequently removed from the squad for the second Test, which Pakistan won by 152 runs, and won’t feature in the third Test either, which starts on October 24 in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan Squad for 2nd and 3rd Tests against England: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Hurraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Zahid Mahmood.
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