"Don't just blame the other two and mark the third one as a hero" - Former Pakistan cricketer accuses PCB of protecting Babar Azam
Former cricketer Basit Ali accused the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) of protecting white-ball skipper Babar Azam by deflecting the blame on Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan following the side's dismal showing in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
The Men in Green continued their horrific run over the past few months with an embarrassing group-stage exit in the T20 World Cup. Pakistan suffered a woeful defeat to minnows USA in their tournament opener before losing a winnable game against arch-rivals India in the following encounter.
In a recent interview, as quoted by Cricket Pakistan, Ali claimed that the board is preparing a report to deflect all the blame on Afridi and Rizwan to protect Babar.
"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. 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," said Ali.
Reports have already started swirling that pacer Shaheen Afridi could be reprimanded for misbehaving with head coach Gary Kirsten and other coaches during recent tours.
"What captaincy has Babar Azam done?" - Basit Ali
Basit Ali further slammed Babar Azam's captaincy and the decision to remove Shaheen Afridi from the helm in T20Is after a lone series.
After a horrific 2023 ODI World Cup campaign, Babar relinquished captaincy across formats and Afridi took over the leadership role in T20Is. However, after leading the side in their 1-4 series defeat to New Zealand, Afridi was replaced by Babar again.
"What captaincy has Babar Azam done? Not even in this tournament, but from the World Cup 2023. When you gave Mohammad Nawaz the last over in Melbourne against India, didn't that open your eyes? What will a person feel after being removed from the captaincy after just five matches? We feel bad even when our chairs get changed on a TV show. Imagine how he would feel," said Ali.
Babar previously led Pakistan to the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final and final. Yet, the side failed miserably in the ODI Asia Cup and World Cup last year before the first-round exit in the recently concluded T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA.