Pakistan's legendary all-rounder Shahid Afridi has come up with a much-needed advice for the embattled Babar Azam heading into Champions Trophy 2025 which got underway from February 19, Wednesday. Afridi, who has been a vocal critic of Azam's captaincy, particularly his decision to replace Shaheen Afridi as captain last year, has offered a crucial advice for the former skipper.
Afridi's criticism stems from Azam's decisions following the 2023 ODI World Cup. After the team's failure in the tournament, Azam stepped down as captain across all formats. Shan Masood and Shaheen Afridi were then appointed as captains of the Test and T20I teams, respectively. However, Shaheen's captaincy was short-lived, and he was soon removed from the position. Azam was then reinstated as the white-ball captain ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup. This decision was met with disapproval from Shahid Afridi, who openly criticized Azam for being "selfish" and not supporting Shaheen as the leader of the team.
While Mohammad Rizwan has recently taken over as the captain of Pakistan's white-ball team, Shahid Afridi has put aside his past criticisms and shared an encouraging message for Babar Azam ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The eight-team tournament kicked off on February 19 in Karachi with Pakistan playing their campaign opener against New Zealand.
Shahid Afridi's golden advice for embattled Babar Azam
Shahid Afridi's message to Azam is clear as he wants the star batter to step up and deliver match-winning performances for Pakistan. The former captain believes that true greatness lies in making an impact when the team needs it most. ย Afridi emphasized that even small but crucial contributions in key moments can create a lasting legacy, and he expects this kind of performance from the star batter.
โHe should become a match-winner. The more matches you make Pakistan win, the more the name will grow. I mean, some of our best memories, we didn't win every match, but the matches we have won, we will remember forever,"ย Shahid Afridi said on Star Sports.
"So, be a part of that performance, even if it's a little, but according to the occasion and according to the needs of the team. I will never talk about big performances. A little performance, such as a performance that the captain or the team has a demand from the player at that time, that that performance should be done by one player. So, that performance matters a lot. Babar, Shaheen, and others. All of them have played a lot of cricket. Now give such performances, with which Pakistan can win games,โ he further stated.
Talking about the match, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl first, Will Young (63 not out) steadied visitors' boat with a crucial fifty after losing Devon Conway (10), Kane Williamson (1) and Dary Mitchell (10) early. As of 20 overs New Zealand were 93/3.