"I understand if you were MS Dhoni that you were brought back"- Ahmed Shehzad blasts Babar Azam's captaincy ahead of Pakistan's T20 World Cup campaign
Former Pakistan cricketer Ahmed Shehzad believes Babar Azam shouldn't have been reappointed as Pakistan's white-ball captain ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lost their faith in Shaheen Afridi's leadership after a disappointing series loss against New Zealand.
Shehzad shed light on Sarfaraz Khan and how the former Pakistan captain won the Champions Trophy in 2017 and proved his doubters wrong. He claimed that Babar didn't deserve to be given a chance to lead in his fifth ICC event as captain as he hadn't won anything.
Speaking on Geo TV, here's what Ahmed Shehzad had to say about Babar Azam:
"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."
Several reports suggested that Shaheen Afridi rejected the option to be named as Babar's deputy for the T20 World Cup. It will be interesting to see if the apparent rift in Pakistan's leadership group impacts their performances on the field.
"He is carrying players for a long run" - Ahmed Shehzad on Babar Azam
Ahmed Shehzad also claimed that Babar Azam picked players who he had a good relation with and not on the basis of merit. The former cricketer suggested that there were quite a few players in the Pakistan squad that should have been dropped. On this, he stated:
"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 had also recently challenged Babar to win the T20 World Cup for Pakistan. He feels there is no point in winning bilateral series if Pakistan cannot win ICC silverware.