"Babar has taken revenge" - Rashid Latif's take on star batter replacing Shaheen Shah Afridi as Pakistan's T20I skipper
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Rashid Latif has opined that despite their friendship, Babar Azam has taken revenge from Shaheen Shah Afridi by returning as captain.
The PCB decided to re-appoint Babar as the white-ball captain as Afridi's tenure ended only after one series. The left-arm speedster had captained Pakistan in T20Is during the New Zealand tour, but the tourists lost 4-1.
The 55-year-old felt Afridi needed to back Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan a bit more with his words like Shadab Khan did. As quoted by CricketPakistan.com, Latif said:
"Shadab Khan made a smart statement when he lost the series against Afghanistan. He stood up and said, 'Without Babar and Rizwan, this team isn't complete.' That means I'm not the captain. The same I was expecting from Shaheen when Babar was removed. If Shaheen had taken that step that day, he wouldn't be seeing all this today. No matter how much friendship there is, Babar has taken revenge [against Shaheen] "
Babar had voluntarily stepped down following Pakistan's poor 2023 World Cup campaign in India. The right-hander also had an underwhelming tournament with the bat.
"Winning the match against India is necessary" - Rashid Latif
Latif further suggested that Pakistan must win the T20 World Cup 2024 and there are no way two ways about it.
"I see this team falling apart. If they don't win the World Cup, they'll be seen crumbling. Winning the match against India is necessary. It feels like the 90s era has returned."
The Men in Green have won the T20 World Cup once, beating Sri Lanka in the final in 2009 at Lord's. Pakistan are clubbed with co-hosts USA, India, Canada, and Ireland in Group A. The marquee match against Team India is on June 9 in New York as Babar Azam's men hope to beat their arch-rivals.