Ahmad Shahzad, out of favor Pakistan batter, has questioned why Shaheen Afridi was dropped from the Pakistan squad for the second Test against Bangladesh. This match is to be played from August 30 onwards in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan head coach Jason Gillespie had confirmed that Shaheen Afridi was dropped from the squad but explained that this would allow him to spend time with his newborn son and family.
Pakistan are trailing the two-Test series 1-0 after Bangladesh stunned them in the first Test by 10 wickets. It was a total collapse of the Pakistan team, who despite making 448/6d in the first innings, crumbled to 146 all out in the second innings, in reply to Bangladesh’s 565 runs.
Pakistan’s decision to go in with four fast bowlers backfired as Bangladesh spinners did the most damage in the second innings.
Now former Pakistan batsman Ahmad Shahzad has questioned the decision to drop Afridi from the team.
"You first lost to Zimbabwe, then lost to Ireland, lost to the USA, lost to India, and now you have lost to Bangladesh as well. Is Shaheen Afridi only responsible for all these defeats? No, he is not solely responsible. All should be questioned about who was involved in these defeats. Tell this country. Holding Shaheen Afridi alone responsible for all the defeats is wrong. Look at his performances, there's a problem in his attitude, you dropped him, that's fine.
But what about others? What about their performances? What is the performance of Abdullah Shafique in the last 8 matches? You have brought in Saim Ayub back after 25 matches, what's his performance? What's the performance of Babar Azam in the last 14 innings in Tests?" Shahzad said in a video on X.
Babar Azam is yet to score a fifty in his last 14 Test innings. He was also replaced as Pakistan Test captain ahead of the Australia tour this year, with Shan Masood taking over the reins.
"So dropping only Afridi will not Pakistan on the right track, you will have to make some harsh decisions. And those who have been involved in these defeats with poor performances should also be questioned. They also should be held accountable, because nobody is better than cricket or the country. Country comes first, everything comes after that.
No matter how are their public relations, no matter how much they hide behind their milestones, and no matter how much money they put in, we know everything, and those who are at the helm of affairs in the PCB, their also know everything. So the time has come that not just one if you really want to move in the right direction, question all those who have been involved. Things will not work like this," Ahmad Shahzad said.
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