Pakistan suffered a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Afghanistan in the second T20I at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday (March 26). As a result, the Men in Green conceded an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

After the second T20I, Pakistan’s stand-in skipper Shadab Khan made a bizarre statement on Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who are not part of the ongoing T20I series.

Shadab said Babar and Rizwan will now get more respect from the country’s cricket fraternity after the youngsters failed to make a mark in their first-ever series loss against Afghanistan.

"People criticise Babar and Rizwan regardless of whether they perform or not. There is always a sword hanging over them of strike rate. As a nation, we wanted youngsters to come in international cricket, as they were performing in PSL (Pakistan Super League), so we thought they would play with a better strike rate," Shadab told reporters.

“But finally, our nation will realise that experience matters and our seniors didn’t get the respect they deserved considering their performances. So after this series, they will get a lot more respect from media and the nation," he added.

With leading players such as Babar, Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf rested for the series, Pakistan handed T20I debut caps to a number of youngsters like Saim Ayub, Tayyab Tahir, Ihsanullah and Zaman Khan.

“I think the young players were nervous; they are playing for the first time for Pakistan,” Shadab remarked.

“We have to back them. Sometimes you don’t perform but attitude matters.

“That’s more important for me. They have talent. They will be great cricketers. We’ll play for pride tomorrow.”

The third and final T20I will be be played at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday (March 27).