“I’ll at all times cherish the reminiscences and the chance,” the assertion, attributed to Afridi, mentioned. “As a group participant, it’s my obligation to again our captain, Babar Azam. I’ve performed beneath his captaincy and don’t have anything however respect for him. I’ll attempt to assist him on and off the sphere. We’re all one. Our goal is similar, to assist Pakistan grow to be the most effective group on this planet.”
Afridi is known to have contributed nothing to that assertion in any respect, and this newest flare-up is about to additional ignite tensions in a Pakistan camp the place unity has been severely examined by the PCB’s repeated flip-flopping in regards to the nationwide captaincy. The writing was on the wall for Afridi since Naqvi refused to again him at a press convention in Lahore on Sunday, saying on the time a call could be made after Pakistan’s coaching camp with the army ended. But it surely seems the choice to sack him was then already on the verge of being finalised.
It’s understood Shaheen doesn’t really feel it has been absolutely clarified to him why he was changed within the first place, and is pissed off by the dearth of communication from the PCB. And the PCB’s try to quell any lingering resentment by placing out a press release the place each Babar and Shaheen exchanged heat phrases has solely resulted in fanning the flames.
The style during which the captaincy has been handed again from Shaheen to Babar is inevitably prone to pressure relations between arguably the 2 largest stars in Pakistan cricket. The pair has loved shut relations through the years, with Shaheen providing public assist for Babar’s captaincy final yr at a time it was perceived to be beneath risk.
However now Afridi’s discontent has meant the PCB has been pressured to enter damage-control mode, and might want to search the least flamable method out of this awkward state of affairs. Naqvi and the PCB are anticipated to aim to placate him and diffuse any simmering resentment over the entire affair, although how efficiently they handle it stays to be seen.
