Rashid Latif accuses Babar Azam of taking revenge against Shaheen Afridi

Former cricketer Rashid Latif believes Babar Azam has exacted revenge against Shaheen Afridi by accepting the captaincy in the white-ball format.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reappointed Azam as the skipper for ODI and T20Is, while Afridi was removed from T20Is.

The 29-year-old had previously relinquished his captaincy across all formats following Pakistan's disappointing performance in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Afridi assumed the T20I captaincy while Shan Masood was appointed for red-ball cricket.

Afridi led in only one series in New Zealand where Pakistan faced a 4-1 defeat while under his leadership, Lahore Qalandars finished last in Pakistan Super League (PSL) season nine.

"Shadab Khan made a smart statement when he lost the series against Afghanistan. He stood up and said, 'Without Babar and Rizwan, this team isn't complete.' That means I'm not the captain," Rashid said on PTV Sports.

"The same I was expecting from Shaheen when Babar was removed. If Shaheen had taken that step that day, he wouldn't be seeing all this today. No matter how much friendship there is, Babar has taken revenge [against Shaheen]," he added.

The former captain said that "Shaheen was treated unfairly and so was Babar".

Latif voiced apprehension regarding the team's cohesion, indicating it could crumble if they fail to emerge victorious in the forthcoming 2024 T20 World Cup.

"I see this team falling apart. If they don't win the World Cup, they'll be seen crumbling. Winning the match against India is necessary. It feels like the 90s era has returned," he said.

It must be noted Babar will start his captaincy reign again in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand which starts from April 18.

The two teams will play three T20Is at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on 18, 20 and 21 April. Following that, both sides will move to Lahore, where they will play the remaining two T20Is of the series on 25 and 27 April, respectively.

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Mahadevan Venkitaraman commented a month ago

Shaheen Afridi could now concentrate on his bowling. It is never a good idea to have the best fast bowler of the team as the captain because when Pakistan team plays weaker teams the best fast bowler is to be rested and they will have to find another captain.

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