“I’ll all the time cherish the recollections and the chance,” the assertion, attributed to Afridi, mentioned. “As a group participant, it’s my responsibility to again our captain, Babar Azam. I’ve performed below his captaincy and don’t have anything however respect for him. I’ll attempt to assist him on and off the sector. We’re all one. Our intention is identical, to assist Pakistan turn out to be the most effective group on this planet.”
Afridi is known to have contributed nothing to that assertion in any respect, and this newest flare-up is about to additional ignite tensions in a Pakistan camp the place unity has been severely examined by the PCB’s repeated flip-flopping regarding the nationwide captaincy. The writing was on the wall for Afridi since Naqvi refused to again him at a press convention in Lahore on Sunday, saying on the time a call can be made after Pakistan’s coaching camp with the navy ended. Nevertheless it seems the choice to sack him was then already on the verge of being finalised.
It’s understood Shaheen doesn’t really feel it has been totally clarified to him why he was changed within the first place, and is annoyed by the dearth of communication from the PCB. And the PCB’s try and quell any lingering resentment by placing out an announcement the place each Babar and Shaheen exchanged heat phrases has solely resulted in fanning the flames.
The style wherein the captaincy has been handed again from Shaheen to Babar is inevitably prone to pressure relations between arguably the 2 greatest stars in Pakistan cricket. The pair has loved shut relations through the years, with Shaheen providing public assist for Babar’s captaincy final 12 months at a time it was perceived to be below risk.
However now Afridi’s discontent has meant the PCB has been compelled to enter damage-control mode, and might want to search the least flamable means out of this awkward scenario. Naqvi and the PCB are anticipated to aim to placate him and diffuse any simmering resentment over the entire affair, although how efficiently they handle it stays to be seen.
