Former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi made a bold statement on nation TV regarding the selection process for the national team.
Pakistan suffered a crushing defeat in the recently concluded second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle as the hosts managed to draw the series 1-1. The Babar Azam-led side, after completing a historic win in the first Test, faced a 246-run defeat.
Pakistan displayed a poor batting performance in both innings, which was the main reason behind their heavy defeat. Following their loss, their middle order has come under scrutiny with Mohammad Rizwan facing most of the heat.
The wicketkeeper-batter has registered a series of low scores lately and questions over his place in the side have been raised with Sarfaraz Ahmed in the side. He has scored 1, 0, 19, 40, 24, and 37 in the last three Tests.
Speaking on Samaa TV, Shahid Afridi said that Pakistan needs to put pressure on Rizwan as stronger bench strength will force him to perform and he will be more careful. He feels that Sarfaraz could’ve been a better option than him in Sri Lanka.
“You have to keep pressure. The stronger the bench is, the more careful the player will be about his performance. Rizwan hasn't been performing, and I believe that on tours like this, Sarfaraz coud have been given an opportunity,” Shahid Afridi said.
When asked about how people bring in arguments over city biases (Sarfaraz hails from Karachi, Pakistan) as a reason for a player to be considered for selection, Afridi said that politics has ruined everything in Pakistan cricket.
He highlighted that selection over city biases has been going on for a long time and it shouldn’t happen and they should behave like a human.
“The biggest problem is that politics has come into everything here. The biases about cities is going for a long time now. Someone will say, 'this guy is from Karachi, or this guy is from Lahore' (while talking about selection in the team). I don't think these things should happen. Insaan ke bacche ban jaaye toh behetar hai (behave like a human being),” he said.
Pakistan will now lock horns against the Netherlands in the three-match ODI series, starting 16th August.
(Samaa TV inputs)
