'You fooled people, you are making a team with your friends' - Ahmed Shehzad accuses Pakistan skipper of favouritism

Ahmed Shehzad has followed several Pakistani experts and expressed his displeasure with the team's recent performances, especially in the T20 World Cup 2024, where Babar Azam's men have lost two consecutive matches against the USA and India.

The former Pakistan opener didn't mince his words in criticising the 2022 finalists, who have looked off-colour in the ninth edition of the marquee event. Shehzad opined that under Babar's captaincy, Pakistan have lost to "mediocre" teams.

"Jab se Babar Azam captain hain, hum bohot mediocre, sorry for using this word, teams se haar rahe hain (ever since Babar became captain, we have been losing to mediocre teams). The kind of progress that was going on, these things were on the cards and bound to happen some day." Shehzad said on a TV show, a video clip of which has gone viral on social media.

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Shehzad lashed out at the experienced duo of Babar and Mohammad Rizwan for failing to take their team home against arch-rivals India, chasing only a 120-run target albeit on a tough pitch.

"There are players who are taking care of the team for the last 4-5 years, who take all the decisions. So wasn't it their duty to take the responsibility of ensuring that the team chases down 120 to win such an important match against India?" Shehzad asked.

Babar and Rizwan added 26 runs in 4.4 overs for the first wicket before the former was dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah. Pakistan struggled to rotate strike and the boundaries were few and far between. The 2009 champions eventually lost by six runs in the low-scoring thriller.

"Aapne B, C, D teams ke khilaaf perform kar ke logon ko hallucinate kiya hai aur pagal banaya hai (you guys have performed against B, C, D teams and fooled the people)," Shehzad said. "Your salaries were hiked, PCB paid you to evolve yourself and your cricket..."

'What should I do with this king who can't win us the match' - Ahmed Shehzad on Babar Azam

A frustrated Shehzad continued firing shots at Babar, as he read out the right-handed batter's stats from a piece of paper to accentuate his points. Shehzad almost mocked the Pakistan captain with reference to the word 'king', a nickname fondly given to him by his fans.

"Your (Babar) scores in big competitions...your average is 27 and your strike rate is 112. And 1400 of your runs have come in a losing cause, which is at No. 3 in the world in that list. So these stats are of which king, tell me that? What should I do with this king who can't win us the match?" Shehzad said.

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Shehzad also accused the 29-year-old of fooling the Pakistani fans and showing favouritism towards the players who are his friends.

"You have fooled the entire public. Aap apne dosto ke saath team bana rahe hain, dosto ko team ke andar rakh rahe hain (you are making a team with your friends, keeping your friends in the team)," said Shehzad.