The off-field drama has once again taken centre stage in Pakistan cricket. After a 61-run drubbing against India earlier in the T20 World Cup, several former cricketers, including Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Akhter, have called out the current batch, asking Pakistan cricket to move on from the seniors and select newcomers in the shortest format.
The comment, however, didn’t sit well with all-rounder Shadab Khan, who reminded the former cricketers about their failure to beat India in an ICC tournament for several years. “Our ex-cricketers have their own opinions. They have done well for Pakistan, and at the end of the day, they have also never defeated India in the World Cup,” Shadab had said after the match against Namibia.
Now, Afridi responded to the comment while talking about the tradition in Pakistan cricket. He noted that such comments have been passed through generations and asked Shadab to reply with match-winning performances against the title contenders and not just bash the minnows.
(Even when we used to play cricket, ex-cricketers said a lot of things about us too. They even said ‘Lanat hai’ (curse). We tolerated it and responded with performances, not against small teams, but against big teams. We answered through performance,” Afridi said on Samaa TV.
“Shadab, you performed well against Namibia, now do it against New Zealand. Son, give performances. In tough times, we stood by you. You didn’t play aggressive cricket, yet you still made it back into the Pakistan team. Now respond with performances so that we also become silent. Perform, once the World Cup is over, we ourselves will go quiet, son,” he added.
Pakistan’s road in Super Eights
Courtesy of a win over Namibia, Pakistan have qualified for the Super Eights of the tournament. They are now drafted in Group B alongside England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. The top two teams with the most points from the group will progress to the semi-final, which will be played on March 4 and 5.
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