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Shahid Afridi criticises Pakistan’s Asia Cup team, saying that Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan should have played.
Former cricketer Shahid Afridi has said that if Pakistan has to play such quality of cricket, they could have well made place for ace batter Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in the squad, who were dropped from the T20I side after fledgling returns since last year.
Till now in the Asia Cup, India have defeated Pakistan twice and many expect the final to follow the same script.
At a public event, Afridi was asked if Pakistan had missed Babar and Rizwan during the Asia Cup. He replied that with the way Pakistan have batted in the tournament, Babar and Rizwan should have been there.
Afridi was pointing to Pakistan’s batters’ low scores and their struggle to hit fours, key reasons behind Babar and Rizwan being dropped from the T20I setup.
“Agar isse Tarah khelna hai toh Babar ko bhi hona chahiye tha, Rizwan ko bhi hona chahiye tha (If this is how you meant to play, Babar-Rizwan should also have been part of the squad). When they are around they are taken for granted, this is Pakistan cricket’s problem,” Afridi said while speaking to a journalist in Pakistan.
The former Pakistan cricketer added that he misses Naseem Shah, believing the pacer could have formed a good combination with Shaheen Shah Afridi in Dubai conditions.
“Naseem Shah ko Maine bahut miss kiya, jiss Tarah se condition thi, mere saath me shaheen ke saath Naseem ka pair outstanding perform karta (I missed Naseem a lot. I think he and Shaheen would have been an outstanding pair). The way the team is playing, it is not upto the level. You can beat Sri Lanka and Oman, but in a final against India, you have to be top-notch in all three sectors,” Afridi said.
Pakistan’s bowling unit came to the party when it mattered the most as they defended a paltry 135 with all its might against Bangladesh in Dubai on Thursday, winning the Super 4s game by 11 runs to set up a maiden Asia Cup title clash with arch-rivals India.
September 27, 2025, 08:18 IST
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