2024-07-12 03:07:17
New Delhi: Former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali has made serious allegations against his country’s current cricket management, accusing the PCB of favoring captain Babar Azam and blaming Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan for the disappointing performance. Basit Ali, who played 19 Tests and 50 ODIs for Pakistan, has claimed that the Pakistan Cricket Board is making Shaheen and Rizwan ‘scapegoats’. In a video viral on social media, the PCB management is preparing a report to blame Afridi and Rizwan for the team’s failures.
Batting in favor of Shaheen
Basit is seen saying in the video that these actions can lead to the downfall of Pakistan cricket. He says, ‘The preparations that are being made, the reports that are being made are against Shaheen Shah Afridi and Rizwan. They have formed a group. Which is wrong. The reports that they are making will destroy Pakistan’s cricket!’ Basit stressed the seriousness of the situation and said that if Afridi and Rizwan are not in agreement with Babar, then instead of making two scapegoats and one a hero, all three should be removed from the team. If you think that Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Babar Azam are not on the same pitch. If you want to remove them, then sack all three. It is not that you make two scapegoats and the third one a hero.’
Babar Azam was given a good lesson
Basit Ali also criticized Babar Azam’s captaincy. He highlighted the decisions taken not only in the recent T20 World Cup but also during previous matches, where Babar handed over the last over to Mohammad Nawaz in the Melbourne match against India. Basit called it an example of poor captaincy. Basit expressed sympathy for Afridi, who was removed from captaincy after just five matches, admitting that such a decision would naturally cause disappointment. He says, ‘You tell me, a boy was removed from captaincy after five matches, will he not be irritated. If the chair on which we sit gets changed, then we get irritated – ‘Why did you change my chair, then this is a national thing.’