'Respect for Babar would have grown..' - Former player admits Babar should have played under Shaheen

Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi has broken his silence on dropping a few players from the current squad after the T20 World Cup 2024 debacle. Notably, Babar Azam and Co. failed to reach the Super 8's stage as they suffered a defeat over the hosts, the USA, in the opening game. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma and Co. toppled them despite posting a modest 119 runs in their second game. The Men in Green won the clash against Canada, but those two points weren't enough to make it to the next round of the game.

In the same vein, the legendary Pakistani cricketer stated that he had heard that the board and the management were all set to drop around 8 or 9 players after their side suffered an early exit from the T20 World Cup 2024. However, the 47-year-old was completely against dropping players like Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan and questioned their replacement from the management side. The star cricketer acknowledged that dropping a few players from the current squad won't be possible, as they do not have great replacements.

In addition, the former Pakistan's skipper further stated that he would have respected Babar Azam more if he had agreed to play under Shaheen Shah Afridi.

"How I see it is that in my eyes and the eyes of the world, respect for Babar would have grown had he taken a stand and said, 'I will play under Shaheen's captaincy.' It was wrong to remove Shaheen as captain so early."

Notably, Babar Azam had resigned from the captaincy after their side failed to enter the knockout stages of the ODI World Cup 2023 in the host country, India. Following the same, the left-arm pacer has been appointed as the skipper owing to his successful stint with PSL team Lahore Qalandars. However, newly appointed PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi sacked his captaincy, and Babar Azam was reinstated as the white-ball skipper.

"I saw on social media that they want to drop 8-9 players. I don't know what's the reality but this can't happen. If you wan't to drop Babar, not as a player, do you have anyone to replace him? Do you have any performer like Babar? Do we have a replacement for Rizwan in our bench?," Shahid Afridi said on his YouTube channel.

It's harsh on those who perform in the domestic circuit for years: Afridi

Meanwhile, Afridi had urged the Pakistan Cricket Board to reward those players who have been showing up their brilliance in domestic cricket so they would be able to prepare the best team ahead of the next World Cup.

"If we continue to select players on the basis of 2-3 innings and ignore stars of domestic cricket, it's harsh on those who perform in the domestic circuit for years," he added further.

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