Shahid Afridi wonders at retaining Babar Azam as captain despite dismal performance

Reacting to an early exit of team Pakistan from the T-20 Cricket World Cup (WC) currently being played in the USA and West Indies, former Pakistani skipper and master blaster Shahid Afridi has said that it is so unfortunate that Babar Azam was allowed to lead the side despite successive losses the national team suffered under his captaincy, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Saturday.   

“The selection committee should be held accountable for that,” he has said, adding, “If the captain is good, he can make a team losing the match win it.”  

Afridi, who earned the title of ‘Boom Boom’ for his mighty sixers, has said that so far Babar has captained the side in five to six tournaments. “He has performed well as a batsman. But he needs to realize that he has to become a match-winner just like Indian great Virat Kohli.”

The former skipper has said that in his opinion, Muhammad Rizwan was a far better choice. “During one of the presentations, Babar said that the bowlers’ performance was not up to the mark,” Afridi has said, adding, “He should not blame either bowlers or batsmen for the team’s defeat. The team ought to play like a unit.”

For the first time in the history of T-20 Cricket WC, Pakistan team could not even qualify for the Super 8 stage of the event as the USA-Ireland match, which was due to be played on Friday, had to be cancelled due to heavy rain and strong winds in Florida.    

Pakistan relied heavily on the match following its consecutive defeats against the USA and India early in the tournament.