Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi has claimed that skipper Babar Azam has not been taking the advice of the senior players while planning for matches following the side's loss to England in their second home Test. He also blamed batting coach Mohammad Yousuf for not being more active during selection, leading to England snatching the series from Pakistan.
Afridi made these claims after the visitors took a 2-0 lead in the three-Test match series on Monday, beating Pakistan by 26 runs in Multan. “As a captain, I always felt one had to be a good leader and that was possible by uniting all the players. It means that you should discuss your plans with seniors. When you start taking advice from outsiders and not involve seniors, issues come (up),” Afridi said on a TV channel.
During the post-match conference, the batting coach was asked during about the form of wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, with Yousuf adding that he had 'no role in selection matters'.
“I think it was not a great answer from Yousuf and I feel Rizwan needs to be given a break and rested and Pakistan should bring in Sarfaraz Ahmed in his place for Test matches,” said Afridi.
Despite these claims, Afridi still wanted the country to back Babar, “If we don’t back and value him, who will value him? Every player has a bad match here and there. But Babar remains the backbone of this team and he got a century (in the first Test) and 75 in the second Test."
Afridi also wanted more involvement of former skipper Sarfaraz as well as batter Shan Masood in the final Test in Karachi. Both players are in the squad for the series. “Instead of talking about where we are going wrong, he is now talking about a consolation win. What sort of a coach are Saqlain (Mushtaq),” former Test batter and ex-chief selector and head coach Mohsin Khan said.
England won the first Test by 74 runs in Rawalpindi on what was a pitch that did not favour bowlers at all. The second Test was a similar affair despite an above-par pitch, as the Englishmen wrapped up the win in four days.
