Pakistan ODI captain Shaheen Afridi publicly urged the country's media to stop jumping to conclusions and taking the case of senior players like Babar Azam every time they experience a dip in form.

Speaking in a press conference following the 2-1 ODI series win over Australia at home, Shaheen stressed that endless scrutiny and reactionary criticism are counterproductive to team building.

Shaheen was declared Player-of-the-Match for his three-wicket haul in the series-deciding third ODI in Lahore on Thursday (June 4). Babar also made a significant contribution in Pakistan's series win, hitting a crucial fifty in the opening game in Rawalpindi.

“I have a request for you all. You always speak about the seniors not performing. When they do, you ask, ‘Why have you performed?’ Unhe ek haal pe choddh de (Just let them be). Everyone is trying their best. No one is going to their home,” Shaheen told reporters.

“In the Rawalpindi ODI, Babar scored a fifty in difficult conditions. He also guided Ghazi Ghori. If you remove seniors from the side, how will you build up the juniors? When I made my debut, seniors were there, and I learned from them. Even the best player in the world will only do well in 3-4 games out of 10. No one can do well in all ten games, so just give everyone a chance,” he added.

Shaheen also defended the spin-heavy surfaces they prepared during the ODI series against Australia, pointing out that when Pakistan toured down under, the hosts served up green, bouncy pitches to gain an advantage.

“When we went to Australia under Rizwan’s captaincy, we won the series there as well. We won on green and bouncy pitches. They thought that because we had come from Asia, giving us green wickets would trouble us,” Shaheen stated.

“So if they have come to our country, we can't be expected to give them green wickets. We also have to win matches. Their strongest playing XI was playing too,” he remarked.