Shaheen Afridi : If Pakistan’s shock exit from the 2023 Asia Cup to India and Sri Lanka after losing a Super Four wasn’t enough, fans and veteran cricketers have been deeply disturbed by reports that captain Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi have been fooled. in the dressing room after last week’s loss to Sri Lanka in Colombo. The report further fueled rumors of a dressing room split and change of captaincy ahead of the ICC ODI World Cup. Shaheen, however, broke word about it with a post on social media on Tuesday.
The reports came after Pakistan were reduced to 42 overs in a rain-affected match against Sri Lanka. A furious Babar said he addressed the team in the dressing room and told the players not to think of themselves as “superstars” and that if they failed at the World Cup, no one would ask them that either. Just then, Shaheen interrupted the request causing a rift between the two, after which Mohammad Rizwan intervened.
News of Pakistan’s squad being disbanded ahead of the World Cup has shocked fans, pundits and veterans alike and has been the talk of the town for over a week now as the 1992 ODI champions look towards the big tournament in India. On Tuesday, Shaheen put all the rumors to rest with a stunning one-word message.
Shaheen shared a picture of the two and captioned it “Family” with a hearty smile.
Pakistan got off to an impressive start to their Asia Cup campaign when they beat Nepal with a record 151 from Babar. Pakistan’s fast bowlers then ran amok against India’s batsmen before rain tied up the group stage.
In the Super Four stage, Pakistan beat Bangladesh in their opener but their hopes were dealt a crushing blow when India bowled them out by 228 runs. The two-time Asian Cup winners later went down to Sri Lanka in the final tie to finish bottom of the Super Four standings.
Pakistan were later hurt by injuries to Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah, the latter also having to miss the entire World Cup tournament.
