Pakistan Set to Drop Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi in Match against Namibia
NEW DELHI, Feb 16: Suffering heavy loss against India, Pakistan is set to drop senior players Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi from their next T20 World Cup match against Namibia after the duo’s failure to come good in the high-stakes game against India in Colombo, reliable sources said on Monday.
The source said Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi conveyed his displeasure over the team’s performance in the 61-run loss to India to team manager Naved Akram Cheema. “The Chairman left the match early at the Premadasa stadium as it became obvious Pakistan were going to face another defeat to India,” the source said.
He said Naqvi, through a senior PCB official, also conveyed to the manager that such performances in matches that matter were not understandable or acceptable. The source said head coach Mike Hesson also spoke to the players in the dressing room and told them that they had not played to their full potential.
“Late night the management think tank decided enough was enough and it was to bench Babar and Shaheen and try out Salman Mirza/Naseem Shah and Fakhar Zaman against Namibia on Wednesday,” he said. The source said if the changes prove to be successful, Babar and Shaheen’s World Cup would be over as the management is also keen to try out young Khawaja Nafay in the middle order.
Pakistan cannot afford any slip-up against Namibia if they want to qualify for the super eight phase of the tournament. The team defeated lower-ranked USA and the Netherlands before the heavy loss to India.
(Manas Dasgupta)
