Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has told that all-rounder Shadab Khan should silence critics through his performances after the latter hit back at criticism by stating that it was only a team in which he played that managed to beat India in a World Cup match. Pakistan had come under fire from former players after their 61-run loss to India in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Shadab then made his comments after Pakistan beat Nambia by 102 runs in their next match and thus sealed qualification to the Super Eights.
Shadab and other senior members of the current Pakistan squad like Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi played an important role in their victory over India in a group stage match of the 2021 T20 World Cup. It was the first, and thus far only, time that Pakistan had managed to beat India in any men’s World Cup match, T20 or ODI. “Shadab was absolutely right when he said that we didn’t beat India in the World Cups, but his side did. They got respect after that, but they couldn’t handle it. After they defeated India, they could not handle the issues between them. Shadab should also know that when he was not able to perform for the team, we stood up for him on national television, saying he is the backbone of the team,” said Shahid Afridi on Samaa TV.
“I know Shadab, he is a very nice guy, he has always spoken to us respectfully. When people talked about us during our playing days, we always backed up our words with our actions on the field. Not against the smaller teams, we used to perform against the bigger teams, So Shadab beta, aap bhi performance kariye. Beta performances karo. (Son, please perform). We stood by you in your difficult times; you didn’t play domestic cricket, yet you still got into the national team. If you want to answer us, then do it by performing on the field. Perform and we will be quiet after that,” Afridi said.
According to Telecom Asia, Pakistan Cricket Board through team manager Naved Cheema conveyed to Khan about not using harsh words against former Pakistan cricketers. Khan, who had played a knock of 36 runs and took three wickets against Namibia, had earlier made scores of 8, 30 and 14 and had taken two wickets in the tournament. “Former cricketers have their own opinions. They (former players) were legends, but even they could not achieve what we have. We have beaten India in a World Cup,” Khan had told reporters in the press conference post Pakistan’s win against Namibia earlier this week.
