Shahid Afridi, former captain of the Pakistan national cricket team, said he could not “understand” the recent removal of Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selection committee.
The removal of Riaz and Abdul Razzaq comes after a disappointing performance by the national team during the T20 World Cup 2024 as the PCB management had lost confidence in the duo and their views had not been taken into consideration for some time, according to with sources.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Afridi, 47, broke his silence on the recent removal of former cricketers from the selection body as part of PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi’s much-needed body “surgery”.
Afridi, who is currently participating in the Legends World Cup 2024 in England as part of Champions Pakistan, told reporters that he did not understand the PCB’s latest move when asked about it.
He pointed out that Riaz and Abdul Razak are not the only members of the selection committee and that many other people are also involved.
“I just heard that they sidelined Abdul Razzaq and Wahab Riaz,” he said. “I don’t understand this kind of ‘surgery’.”
Afridi also said that whatever “surgery” is needed, it should be done once and for all. He added that whoever is promoted now should be given enough time to improve their skills as a leader.
While discussing the performance of Babar Azam, Pakistan’s current T20 captain, Afridi highlighted that the 29-year-old cricketer has been given plenty of opportunities to prove his abilities as a captain.
“As far as Babar is concerned, no captain has been given such open opportunities (to prove his captaincy),” Afridi told reporters, pointing out that Azam had played in several international tournaments.
However, he did not seem impressed by Azam’s captaincy skills despite the “unbelievable” opportunities he got.
On the removal of Riaz, 39, and Abdul Razzaq, 44, sources said: “Their influence was significant in selecting the T20 World Cup squad and they showed more support to under-performing players.”
Meanwhile, Mohammad Yousuf, Asad Shafiq and Bilal Afzal are still part of the seven-member panel that also includes the captain and coach.
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