When asked whether Babar Azam shows favoritism in selecting players for the national team, Shehzad didn’t mince words.He criticized Babar and the Pakistan Cricket Board for reinstating him as the white-ball captain just before the T20 World Cup.
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“Speaking of Babar Azam, there is friendship. Look, he is carrying players for a long run. The players are out of form for a long time. It doesn’t look good. If I count the number of matches, you’ll realize players don’t get that long run. If there were any other captain, he wouldn’t have carried players for 35-40 games. He should have thought about himself,” Shehzad stated.
He continued, “We don’t play cricket to win bilateral series but to win ICC events. Did we win any event in the last 4-5 years? If we didn’t win, I would say there are gangs, friendships, and tola with an agent who has been manipulating cricket for the last 4-5 years.”
When reminded that many players in Pakistan’s current squad debuted under Sarfaraz Ahmed‘s captaincy, Shehzad defended Sarfaraz by highlighting his success.
“They [Sarfaraz Ahmed and Co.] produced the results, won the Champions Trophy. It justifies, you also win this event and justify. However, you’ve got a longer run, one captain doesn’t get five events. You were removed and then brought back. I understand if you were MS Dhoni that you were brought back. But no. It’s wrong with Shaheen, you made him captain for two matches and then you removed him.”
Babar Azam stepped down as Pakistan’s captain after the team failed to advance past the group stage in the 2023 ODI World Cup. Shaan Masood was named Test captain, and Shaheen Afridi took over the T20 side. However, after a disappointing series loss to New Zealand and a poor PSL performance under Shaheen’s leadership, the PCB reinstated Babar as the white-ball captain.
