Told Babar Azam his performance as captain is not good: Former PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf
Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf has rubbished all allegations of a rift between Shaheen Shah Afridi and Babar Azam over change in captaincy. He claimed that Babar agreed to step down as skipper after the PCB explained to him that his performance as leader was not good.
During Ashraf's tenure as PCB chief, Afridi was appointed as T20I captain, while Shan Masood was named Test captain. Babar stepped down as leader after Pakistan's poor showing in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Speaking to a local news channel, Ashraf slammed all reports of a rift between Babar and Afridi following change in captaincy. He said (as quoted by PTI):
"There were no differences between Babar Azam or Shaheen even after I decided to have the latter as the T20 captain. No, the unity didn't end (after removing Babar as captain). In fact, the unity improved. When we told him to play as a player, which is his talent, but as a captain, his performance is not good, he agreed.”
Afridi's stint as T20I captain ended after a solitary series in New Zealand. New PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi brought back Babar as T20I skipper. The experienced batter led Pakistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Pakistan, however, went down to the United States and failed to qualify for the Super 8 round.
Ashraf backs move to name Masood, Afridi as captains
Ashraf's decision to name Afridi as T20I captain did not last very long. As for Masood, he has endured a horror run as Test captain. Pakistan were first hammered 3-0 in Australia. Recently, they were stunned 2-0 at home by Bangladesh. Pakistan had never lost a Test to Bangladesh before.
Despite the disastrous results, Ashraf backed his captaincy choices. Elaborating on the decision to pick Afridi and Masood as leaders, he said:
"He (Shan Masood) was a very good captain. He is still a very good player. He is still a captain in England's counties. And, I made Shaheen Shah the captain of the T20I team. That was also a very good decision."
Bangladesh beat Pakistan by six wickets in the second Test in Rawalpindi, which ended on Tuesday, September 3. They had earlier defeated the hosts by 10 wickets at the same venue in the first Test.