Pakistan Test cricketer Ahmed Shehzad has criticized the team management for dropping pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi from the lineup for the second Test against Bangladesh.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) unveiled the 12-member squad on Thursday which will form their Playing XI for the must-win second and final Test against Bangladesh.
Shaheen Afridi was a notable omission from the lineup along with wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed as well as uncapped batters Kamran Ghulam and Muhammad Hurraira.
The decision did not sit well with Ahmed and he shared a video on his official social media platforms, raising questions about the form of other players, who were retained in the squad.
“You lost to Zimbabwe; you lost to Ireland; you lost to the USA; you lost to India; now you lost to Bangladesh. Is Shaheen Afridi only responsible for all of this?” he asked.
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Ahmed Shehzad acknowledged the dip in Shaheen’s performance, however, he stressed that one player cannot be blamed for the team’s poor performance.
“Shaheen Afridi won’t be solely responsible for all of this. So, bring all those people who were involved in all of this. Tell this country. So, it is wrong to blame Shaheen Afridi for all of this,” he stated.
“Yes, his performances are low, his attitude is problematic, you dropped him, that’s a good thing. But what about the rest of the people involved in all of this? What about the rest of the performances?”
The 32-year-old batter also raised questions over the batting performances of Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam and Saim Ayub, who are getting consistent chances.
“What about Abdullah Shafique’s performance in the last 8 Test matches? What about Saim Ayub’s performance after 25 matches? What about Babar Azam’s performance in the last 14 Test matches? So just by barring them, there won’t be any surgery; there won’t be any Pakistan team on the right track,” he added.
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