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Ahmad Shahzad said that Shaheen Afridi has been made a scapegoat by Pakistan team management. The left-arm pacer was dropped from the Pakistan squad for the second Test against Bangladesh that begins on August 30, 2024, in Rawalpindi.

In the first Test match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, the Shan Masood-led team lost by 10 wickets to Bangladesh. The left-arm speedster went wicketless till the 163rd over of Bangladesh’s first innings in the contest.

Afridi dismissed Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Hasan Mahmud, with figures of 30-3-88-2. Pakistan’s first innings total of 448/6 was met with a response of 565 runs from the visiting team.

Shaheen then went to Karachi to see his newborn child, Aliyaar, after the first Test. Meanwhile, he was called back to Rawalpindi for the second Test, but coach Jason Gillespie told reporters that Shaheen would not be playing the second Test.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Shahzad said that Shaheen is not the only player to blame for Pakistan’s recent dismal performance in international cricket.

He admitted that the pacer’s performances have been below average in recent months, but removing him alone from the squad will not improve the matter; instead, all non-performing players should be eliminated.

Ahmed Shahzad jumps to Shaheen Afridi’s rescue

“You lost to Zimbabwe; you lost to Ireland; you lost to the USA; you lost to India; now you lost to Bangladesh. Is Shaheen Afridi only responsible for all of this? Shaheen Afridi won’t be solely responsible for all of this. So, bring all those people who were involved in all of this. Tell this country. So, it is wrong to blame Shaheen Afridi for all of this. Yes, his performances are low, his attitude is problematic, you dropped him, that’s a good thing. But what about the rest of the people involved in all of this? What about the rest of the performances?” Shahzad posted a video on X.

What about Abdullah Shafique and Babar Azam’s performances in Tests: Ahmad Shahzad

He mentioned Babar Azam and Abdullah Shafique while discussing non-performers. Notably, Babar Azam has not scored a fifty in his last 14 Test innings for Pakistan.

“What about Abdullah Shafique’s performance in the last 8 Test matches? What about Saim Ayub’s performance after 25 matches? What about Babar Azam’s performance in the last 14 Test matches? So just by barring them, there won’t be any surgery; there won’t be any Pakistan team on the right track. Some decisions will have to be taken. And those people who are involved in all of this, whose performances are low, they will also have to be held accountable,” Shahzad said.

Shahzad stated that the country comes first, and that if the PCB wants to improve Pakistan cricket, it must remove all underperforming players.

“Because no one is greater than cricket and the country. The country is above everything else. No matter how many people run PR, no matter how many people hide behind personal milestones, no matter how many people buy boards, no matter how much money someone invests, we know everything. And those who are handling the helm of affairs in PCB, they also know everything. So, now the time has come that not just one person, if you really want to go in the right direction, then you will have to bring all of them to the gutter. This won’t work,” he signed off.

Here is the video: