Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has accused the current management of favoritism and mismanagement, particularly in regard to captain Babar Azam. He claims the management is unfairly blaming Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan for the team’s poor performance in the T20 World Cup.
In a video circulating on social media, Basit Ali, who played 19 Tests and 50 ODIs for Pakistan, alleged that the management is preparing a report to scapegoat Afridi and Rizwan for the team’s failures. He warned that this could lead to the downfall of Pakistan cricket.
“#BabarAzam is doing lobby against Shaheen to save himself” – Basit Ali
— \o/¹⁰🐐|Shahid Afridiʼs era❤️🔥 (@LoyalAfridian10) July 10, 2024
now Baber PR will fool nation again! heʼs doing paid agendas against #ShaheenAfridi & Shahid Afridi just to save his captaincy. exposed again! KARMA🔥#CricketTwitter #ShahidAfridi pic.twitter.com/5M1f2EA7ur
“They are preparing a report against Shaheen Shah Afridi and Rizwan,” said Basit. “They have created groups within the team, which is wrong. Don’t put the blame on them. This will ruin Pakistan cricket.”
He stressed that if Afridi and Rizwan are not aligned with Babar Azam, then all three should be removed from the team, rather than making two scapegoats and one a hero.
“If you believe Rizwan, Afridi, and Babar are not on the same page, then remove all three. Don’t make two scapegoats and one a hero,” he added.
Basit also criticized Babar Azam’s captaincy, both in the recent T20 World Cup and in previous matches. He mentioned a controversial decision where Babar chose to bowl Nawaz in the final over in Melbourne.
“Babar’s captaincy has been questionable, not just in this tournament, but since the World Cup. The decision to let Nawaz bowl the last over in Melbourne was wrong,” Basit remarked.
He also expressed empathy for Afridi, who was removed from the captaincy after just five matches, noting that such decisions can naturally cause frustration.
“Imagine being removed from captaincy after just five matches. Anyone would feel hurt. Even if our seats are changed on TV, we feel annoyed. It’s a natural reaction,” he said.
These allegations come after Pakistan’s early exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, where they failed to progress beyond the Group Stage, suffering losses to the USA and India.