[VIDEO] "I told the PM that Babar Azam need not be changed, and he should continue as skipper in Test cricket": Shahid Afridi

[MenInG]

Shahid Afridi telling it all on TV - what he said to the PM and to the Chairman and his views on captaincy.

Guess questions being asked about his influence to get his son in law appointed as T20 captain.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1725445097796317232

https://twitter.com/x/status/1725446365444985202

 

[Usman Chadda]

No one cares.

Shaheen is now the white-ball captain and will probably end up crippling his career over this responsibility.

Results will not change, we will still struggle to compete.

 

[Rana]

Afridi talks like he is the chief advisor of cricket in Pakistan

He’s a father figure to the Dosti/Yaari clique.

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Shahid Afridi telling it all on TV - what he said to the PM and to the Chairman and his views on captaincy.

Guess questions being asked about his influence to get his son in law appointed as T20 captain.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1725445097796317232

https://twitter.com/x/status/1725446365444985202

liar liar Afridis pants on fire..
He lobbied for his Son In Law behind the scenes..

 

[160KPH]

I continue to believe that our old players talk too much on television.

 

[Rana]

liar liar Afridis pants on fire..
He lobbied for his Son In Law behind the scenes..

Don’t think he did

But inside he would have wanted it

 

[BouncerGuy]

So Afridi is also meeting political people regarding cricket-related stuff. I don't think so that it is a good idea... right?

 

[kumjsr]

Who is Shahid Afridi to tell anyone?

 

[160KPH]

So Afridi is also meeting political people regarding cricket-related stuff. I don't think so that it is a good idea... right?

Yeah if you look at it he just made a very damning admission. Why is he consulting with the PM on who our new captain should be?

 

[BouncerGuy]

This is not the only problem here. The other problem is why a person has to consult with a PM and that too if that person is not even a chief sector for PCB. Why PM?

 

[Advaith]

In his foolishness he admitted that he is in business, why only test captaincy, why not t20 ?? It's not that there were several contenders, Shaheen would have got it without his interference but this clarifies that the system is rotten from so long ago that now it's new normal and nobody feels stench ..

 

[Misia]

I said I was against Shaheen as captain because they're would always be suspicion as to how much if any influence his father in-law has on his on-field decision or team selection. genuine sympathy for Shaheen

 

[Saj]

What's puzzling is why the PM and Chairman are not asking for the head coach or Mickey Arthur's views on matters.

 

[Suleiman]

And this is one of the reasons we’re lagging behind… the PM has nothing to do with cricket, heck, he’s not even qualified for being PM… why on earth is he being conducted for this matter…

 

[Rana]

And this is one of the reasons we’re lagging behind… the PM has nothing to do with cricket, heck, he’s not even qualified for being PM… why on earth is he being conducted for this matter…

Did you raise this question when Imran Khan advised the PCB to appoint Babar Azam as their all format captain?

You had no issues then because Imran had played cricket nearly two decades ago?

 

[Suleiman]

Did you raise this question when Imran Khan advised the PCB to appoint Babar Azam as their all format captain?

You had no issues then because Imran had played cricket nearly two decades ago?

Lol like there’s any comparison. Even you realize this.

Yes Imran made mistakes and even then PM should stay out of it

 

[Suleiman]

Comparing a guy who dedicated half his life to cricket to a guy who has no idea on how to hold a bat… you will go to any length @Rana

 

[Rana]

Comparing a guy who dedicated half his life to cricket to a guy who has no idea on how to hold a bat… you will go to any length @Rana

You don’t have to have played any level of professional cricket to give the verdict that Babar isn’t good enough to lead the country. Maryam Aurengzeb can work this out, you don’t need Viv Richards to verify it.

 

[Suleiman]

You don’t have to have played any level of professional cricket to give the verdict that Babar isn’t good enough to lead the country. Maryam Aurengzeb can work this out, you don’t need Viv Richards to verify it.

Things change brother. At that time they saw he was young and one of the only mainstay players.

They took a gamble.

It didn’t pay off.

But even with IK as PM, I do not believe the PM should have such a massive influence in PCB. That should be the precedent.

 

[Rana]

Things change brother. At that time they saw he was young and one of the only mainstay players.

They took a gamble.

It didn’t pay off.

But even with IK as PM, I do not believe the PM should have such a massive influence in PCB. That should be the precedent.

The point is that the PM sought or gave advice back then, the current PM if that’s the case can do so now as well.

Should the PM’s of Pakistan do so? I guess not. It’s Pakistan though, it works in weird ways.

 

[Savak]

What's puzzling is why the PM and Chairman are not asking for the head coach or Mickey Arthur's views on matters.

According to some reports reported by a news channel, Mickey Arthur in his WC report blamed the entire debacle on Babar i.e. he was too arrogant and refused to listen to anyone and failed to motivate the squad. Any way to uncover if this is true?

 

[topspin]

Shahid Afridi is just trying to save face here. The motive for coming out with this was merely for public consumption. Everybody knows he lobbied for Shaheen to be captain.

Now that Shaheen is captain of the T20I side, he's now going to play every meaningless bilateral game and be another Pakistani bowler with a short career because he's been bowled to the ground. All this would obviously go over Shahid Afridi's head.

 

[zaidihusain]

Shahid Afridi telling it all on TV - what he said to the PM and to the Chairman and his views on captaincy.

Guess questions being asked about his influence to get his son in law appointed as T20 captain.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1725445097796317232

https://twitter.com/x/status/1725446365444985202

First why this guy Shahid Afridi is saying everything so openly in media?
He should know that any conversation with PM or PCB officials must be confidential, this is called professionalism which he doesn't have at all.
What PM has to do with captaincy and with what authority Shahid Afridi is advising on this matter? Only authorised PCB officials must discuss this matter and keep it private.
Lastly Babar's test captaincy was more worst than limited overs captaincy. Failure to win a single test match at home out of 8 is a bigger than winning a multi nation tournament. So what Shahid Afridi is saying is hogwash

 

[7sins]

and than shahid afridi did all his best to make shaeen his son in law next limited over captain. Well played shahid

 

[JaDed]

And this is one of the reasons we’re lagging behind… the PM has nothing to do with cricket, heck, he’s not even qualified for being PM… why on earth is he being conducted for this matter…

I was like who PM? Is that short someone in PCB, insane, Harsha Bhogle is right about PCB what a joke.

Zaka Najam all these guys only appear like administrators, absolute jokers.

 

[Mamoon]

I think Hafeez was the deciding factor in terms of Shaheen pipping Rizwan for captaincy. He played under his captaincy for LQ and must have seen something.

Rizwan getting neglected for captaincy is quite a big statement by PCB that is not getting enough attention.

 

[Suleiman]

According to some reports reported by a news channel, Mickey Arthur in his WC report blamed the entire debacle on Babar i.e. he was too arrogant and refused to listen to anyone and failed to motivate the squad. Any way to uncover if this is true?

I mean multiple people are on record saying that about Babar over the years now. I don’t want to say outright this one is true or not because of lack of evidence.

But Wasim Akram wouldn’t call him out for no reason last year…

 

[Rana]

I think Hafeez was the deciding factor in terms of Shaheen pipping Rizwan for captaincy. He played under his captaincy for LQ and must have seen something.

Rizwan getting neglected for captaincy is quite a big statement by PCB that is not getting enough attention.

Here’s my take on this,

I believe Rizwan was told by the PCB media manager to take down his Gaza tweet, and he plain out refused to do so. It’s his personal views, he can do whatever he wants…but I think the PCB may have realised that this guy is a loose canon and can do or say anything at anytime which can lead the PCB having to do repair jobs after his reckless behaviour on the mic and social media.

The other thing is that he is one of the main assets of Saya Corps, a management that has been exposed pretty badly in the conflict of interest saga. The manager of the agency doesn’t come across as a likeable person from a PCB pov, as he was the one controlling these boys during the tough negotiations for central contracts, and a share in the ICC revenue.

Also, the direction of play which the PCB want to take in terms of playing cricket. Making Rizwan captain means,

A) Babar will continue to open with Rizwan…both players affiliated with Saya will do everything in their power to ensure personal milestones, all the TV time they can get in order to milk their sponsors

B) The fact that the PCB realised Babar is as dumb a tactician as Rizwan has made him look with his behind the scenes manipulation

C) PCB want proper T20 openers and a Proper ODI number 4, so taking the power away from Rizwan will help because that’s not happening as long as this guy is in charge.

 

[zaidihusain]

I mean multiple people are on record saying that about Babar over the years now. I don’t want to say outright this one is true or not because of lack of evidence.

But Wasim Akram wouldn’t call him out for no reason last year…

Wasim Akram was the first amongst all Pakistan cricketers who questioned Rizwan's slow batting approach in 2022 T20 Asia Cup then he was attacked on social media by Rizwan's fans. I remember he said on Star Sports that in T20s if you are playing 15-16 overs after opening then you should finish the game without leaving on others.
Then during 2022 T20 World Cup, he shared that during PSL he requested Babar to bat at no. 3 and let Martin Guptill to open but Babar simply refused and told Wasim to ask Sharjeel to come at no. 3
This shows how much stubborn Babar has been in last 4 years and how much special treatment both Babar & Rizwan got

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

Shahid Afridi comes across as a bit of a doofus here but I guess he's overestimating his perceived influence and afraid people will think he's behind Shaheen being appointed. I don't think anyone really has a problem with Shaheen being named captain.

Also, doesn't he know that the PCB offered Babar the option to continue as test captain? What a condescending manner Afridi adopts in this program when talking about how he said to let Babar continue as captain for red ball cricket.

On a side note, Mohd Yousuf doesn't look too interested/impressed with what Afridi has to say lol.

 

[pillionrider]

On a side note, Mohd Yousuf doesn't look too interested/impressed with what Afridi has to say lol.

From what I've seen of Yousuf on TV, that seems to be his default look when he's not got anything to say.

He was crude to begin with and he hasn't done anything to change that over the years, which is kind of cool lol

 

[Kianig89]

He should stop this. actions speak louder than words, he was spreading venom against Babar everybody saw that, he should pray SSA performs as captain

 

[VForVendetta]

Shahid Afridi is just trying to save face here. The motive for coming out with this was merely for public consumption. Everybody knows he lobbied for Shaheen to be captain.

Now that Shaheen is captain of the T20I side, he's now going to play every meaningless bilateral game and be another Pakistani bowler with a short career because he's been bowled to the ground. All this would obviously go over Shahid Afridi's head.

Lala just made the entire situation far more farcical & complicated for his son in law by going public. There's absolutely no reason for him to come in self defense. Because even if he truly had no hands in it, media/critics will never fully believe him. Also him mentioning the PM so casually as if they are drinking buddies is another damning prospect of Pakistan cricket & the overall clown esque culture of the country. He should not decide the future of Pak cricket on a casual phone chitchat or random tea invitation with the PM. Then he absolutely should not disclose whatever PM had told him in confidence.
Whether Imran Khan, Narendra Modi, Sheikh Hasina or Mahinda Razapaksa no premier should get involved in such tussles if they truly want their countries to flourish as top cricketing nation. Sadly the desi mentality doesn't function like that.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Nobody should be meeting any political person related to any cricketing matter like changing captain or coach etc. This is the responsibility of PCB to deal with such stuff. What does PM have to do with the appointment of a captain or a coach?

 

[Monday Morning]

With the ICC suspending the SLC for political interference, why on Earth would you voluntarily furbish such information about the PCB? Pakistan's ex-cricketers have IQs lower than their batting and bowling averages.

 

[IAJ]

What a comedy this is. No wonder our cricket is in a mess. Lagay raho.

 

[Croma]

The PM is involved?

Didn't ICC disqualify Sri Lanka for government involvement? PCB and others involved should be careful about nonchalantly talking about meetings with PM in public.

 

[Rana]

Why do fans desperately want ICC to throw Pakistan out of cricket now that Babar has stepped down as captain?

 

[shokz1408]

Well I wanted Babar to stay only as test captain for Australia series. Kind of throwing a new captain under the bus here for the tour.

 

[mazkhan]

Lobbying or no lobbying

Shaheen career will be over soon one his bowling development has stagnated and what's worse he's lost a considerable amount of pace.

And the poison chalice of being a captain for Pakistan team will be the nail in the coffin when the performances go pair shaped.


Babar couldn't give a monkeys because he is a top batsmen so he has something to fall back on after his captaincy and that is he's the best batsmen in the country.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Boom Boom Afridi , ofcourse I'm his huge fan. But when it comes to dramebazi. No one can beat him

 

[Rana]

Babar couldn't give a monkeys because he is a top batsmen so he has something to fall back on after his captaincy and that is he's the best batsmen in the country.

If Babar doesn’t perform for the team and performs for himself…he will be the scapegoat when the team loses