Former Pakistani captain Shoaib Malik received backlash from Mohammad Yousuf after he had answered a fan question on a TV show and said that in case Babar Azam steps down from Pakistan captaincy after the ICC World Cup 2023, Shaheen Afridi should take over.

The statement was blasted by Pakistan great Mohammad Yousuf live on TV which led to Malik being criticised on social media before the latter issued a clarification on his exact words.

Following the hammering Pakistan received at the Narendra Modi Stadium last week, Malik, in conversation with A Sports, questioned Babar's leadership skills and ability to think something innovative under pressure.

"I gave an opinion in the past as well that Babar Azam should leave captaincy. This is my personal opinion. Babar does not think out of the box as a captain. He is doing captaincy but the improvement is not coming. He can do wonders for Pakistan as a player. Shaheen Afridi should become captain in white ball cricket in case Babar Azam resigns,” Malik said on A Sports.

This remark didn’t sit well with Yousuf when he was made aware of the same on Samaa TV. He criticized Malik for his statement and referenced that even the great Imran Khan won the World Cup in 1992 which was his third time leading the side in the ICC event after 1983 and 1987.

Shoaib Malik then clarified his statement on A sports.

He said: "I have a great rapport with Yousuf. Whenever we meet, he always share a great time and I do respect him a lot. It was my point of view and I have every right to answer the way I want to a question asked to me. But had he understood the question and then listened to my answer, then there wouldn't have been a discussion on this on any channel. But I really love Yousuf bhai."

Yousuf had also slammed Wasim Akram for not stopping Malik from suggesting Babar should step down as captain.

To this Wasim Akram said that the 41-year-old Malik had mentioned "if" in the statement.