Srinagar: Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has made explosive statement regarding Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi revolving around captaincy issue.
PCB recently reappointed Azam as the skipper for ODI and T20Is, while Afridi was removed from T20Is. Babar had previously relinquished his captaincy across all formats following Pakistan’s disappointing performance in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
Afridi led in only one series in New Zealand where Pakistan faced a 4-1 defeat.
“Shadab Khan made a smart statement when he lost the series against Afghanistan. He stood up and said, ‘Without Babar and Rizwan, this team isn’t complete.’ That means I’m not the captain,” Rashid said on PTV Sports.
“The same I was expecting from Shaheen when Babar was removed. If Shaheen had taken that step that day, he wouldn’t be seeing all this today. No matter how much friendship there is, Babar has taken revenge [against Shaheen],” he added.
The former captain said that “Shaheen was treated unfairly and so was Babar”.
Latif voiced apprehension regarding the team’s cohesion, indicating it could crumble if they fail to emerge victorious in the forthcoming 2024 T20 World Cup.
“I see this team falling apart. If they don’t win the World Cup, they’ll be seen crumbling. Winning the match against India is necessary. It feels like the 90s era has returned,” he said.