Former Pakistan skipper and wicketkeeper batter has expressed his concerns about team cohesion recently and said that the uncertainty in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has created a rift in the team.
Rashid Latif believes that the polarization in the dressing room of Pakistan’s national team is escalating and it reminds him of the 90s era, stressing the fact that Babar Azam accepted white ball captaincy only to take revenge from Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Babar resigned from captaincy in all formats after Pakistan’s poor showing in the ICC ODI Cricket World Cup and then Zaka Ashraf-led PCB appointed Shaheen Shah Afridi as the national team captain in T20Is while appointing Shan Masood as skipper in Test format.
Shaheen was removed from captaincy after leading Pakistan in just one series against New Zealand where Pakistan lost 4-1 away from home while Lahore’s dismal campaign under his stewardship did not help his case either.
“Shadab Khan made a smart statement when he lost the series against Afghanistan. He stood up and said, ‘Without Babar and Rizwan, this team isn’t complete.’ That means I’m not the captain. The same I was expecting from Shaheen when Babar was removed. If Shaheen had taken that step that day, he wouldn’t be seeing all this today. No matter how much friendship there is, Babar has taken revenge against Shaheen,” Rashid Latif said.
The cricket pundit stated that Shaheen Afridi’s captaincy was mishandled but Babar Azam’s tenure was not handled brilliantly either while pointing out that this creates a rift in the dressing room.
The former wicketkeeper batter is known for his astute analysis and predictions and Rashid Latif believes the team will fall apart like a pack of cards if they don’t perform well in the upcoming T20I World Cup.
Babar Azam will resume his reign as captain of Pakistan against New Zealand in a five-match T20I series that is set to commence on April 18.
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