For the first time in 63 years, Pakistan have lost three consecutive Tests on the trot at home. After losing to Australia earlier this year, the Ben Stokes-led England side defeated Pakistan in Rawalpindi and then in Multan to hand them a series loss which subsequently put them out of contention for a place in the World Test Championship final. Following the 26-run loss in the second Test on Monday, former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi lashed out at Babar Azam for his captaincy calls during the matches.
Afridi was unhappy with Babar taking advice from “outsiders” and not involving the senior members of the squad in the planning process.
“As a captain, I always felt one had to be a good leader and that was possible by uniting all the players. It means that you should discuss your plans with seniors. When you start taking advice from outsiders and not involve seniors, issues come (up),” Afridi said during a discussion on Samaa TV.
Afridi however strongly criticised the Multan crowd for chanting ‘ZimBabar’ after the Pakistan captain’s early dismissal in the second innings of the Test match. It was Babar’s second consecutive failure in the second innings in this series after having scored 136 and 75 in the first innings in Rawalpindi and Multan respectively.
“We have also witnessed such things in our time. If we don’t value our players, the world will also not value them. No doubt, Babar Azam is the backbone of this team. His performance is not too bad in the series. Wo koi table tennis ya squash ka khel to nahi khelne jata hai jo akele perform kare aur jeetwaye (He doesn’t play table tennis or squash to triumph his team on his own)? We can’t expect enough from an individual unless the XI performs. He is the captain with a lot of responsibilities. He is our hero and he’ll stay a hero,” he said.
