Asia Cup 2023: Captain Had One Choice, The Coach Has Another – Shahid Afridi Drops Bombshell On Pakistan Cricket

Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi revealed that it was a chaotic experience while serving as a chief selector of the Pakistan team for a brief period of time. The Men in Green was knocked out of the Asia Cup 2023 following a last-ball thriller against Sri Lanka on Thursday.

Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by two wickets using the DLS technique to advance to the Asia Cup final. Sri Lanka chased down the total in the final ball of the game, as Charith Asalanka held his nerve at the end to guide his side to the second consecutive final of the continental event on their home soil.

Speaking on Samaa TV, Shahid Afridi described his terrible month-long stint as the team’s head selector, during which the captain, coach, and players were not all oriented in the same way. He also claimed that there was no appropriate communication between the board, the players, and the coach.

“I came in as chief selector for one month. Believe me, there were so many problems. Captain had one choice, and the coach had another. Both give me different reports. Players give me different reports altogether. Communication is so broken, that I was baffled at how is this board even running. There is no coordination, no communication between these guys,” Shahid Afridi said.

In August, PCB appointed Mishab Ul Haq as the head of the cricket technical team, as Pakistan Cricket has been facing issues related to their domestic cricket and team selections in recent times as they have appointed a Cricket Technical Committee to recommend the overall structure of cricket in the country.

All The Seniors, Including Head Coach, Mickey Have To Talk To Him – Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi reiterated that he would continue to have faith in the skipper Babar Azam. The former Pakistan captain emphasised the necessity of the senior players in the team and team director Mickey Arthur to speak with the captain about making decisions and developing a leadership mindset and urged them to support him in making tough decisions heading into the marquee event in India.

“We are going to the World Cup. All the seniors, including head coach, Mickey, have to talk to him. Make him strong. Don’t fear from making tough decisions. Don’t worry about losses. Either you win, or you learn.

“My issue is, you’ve been leading the side for 3 years. Come on. There are professionals around you. Talk to them and improve your captaincy. You’re a big player, but you would want people to also remember you as captain,” Shahid Afridi added.

Babar Azam has been facing criticism regarding his captaincy after he failed to guide their team to the final of the Asia Cup 2023 in Sri Lanka and the prolific Pakistan batter will have a huge captaincy test in the forthcoming ODI World Cup in India.