Shahid Afridi lambasted Pakistan selectors after the team fell to a 2-1 defeat to Bangladesh in the recently concluded ODI series on Sunday. The former Pakistan batter said that the selectors had dropped experienced ODI players due to their ordinary performance at the T20 World Cup and made a big mistake in giving new and inexperienced players the chance in these important series.
“We lost the Bangladesh series 2-1. I am disappointed with the selection committee. You guys at the selection committee have played so much cricket and you still have no idea about who should captain in what format. You just take decisions. With the excuse of surgery, you pick new players who have just played a few first class matches. The domestic system is not even of the standard that players can come up from there and make a place for themselves in the Pakistan team,” he said in a video on his X account.
“The seniors who didn’t perform well in the T20 World Cup have performed well in the ODI but you benched them using the excuse of surgery. And in their place you brought in youngsters who have played just a handful of domestic matches. You ae just handing out Pakistan caps to every body and any body,” he added.
On Saturday, senior selector Aaqib Javed told the media that the selectors were conveyed that Babar and Fakhar Zaman were injured after the T20 World Cup. “It is a surprise for us and we have asked the PCB to probe into the matter and find out how they got injured after the World Cup and whether they played in the tournament fully fit or not,” Javed said.
However, a day later, Babar posted pictures of himself on social media in which he appeared to be sarcastically questioning Javed’s take on his fitness. Later in the day after Pakistan lost the third and final ODI in Dhaka, head coach Mike Hesson came out with a new version saying Pakistan had rested senior players including Babar to give a chance to youngsters.
Pakistan took four uncapped rookies for the ODI series including Maaz Sadaqat, Shamyl Hussain, Ghazi Ghori and Saad Masood while Sahibzada Farhan and Abdul Samad also made their ODI debuts in the series.
