Shaheen Afridi hints support for under fire skipper Babar Azam with cryptic post

Pakistan's all-format skipper Babar Azam was left out of the T20I squad for the series against Afghanistan to manage his workload. While Shadab Khan has been afforded the opportunity to lead the side in Babar's absence, several reports had suggested the name of Shaheen Afridi for the role. The Pakistani speedster shared a cryptic post on Twitter, backing the underfire Babar Azam.

Lahore Qalandars' skipper Shaheen Afridi was rumoured to be in line to lead the national side against Afghanistan with reports suggesting that the team management did not consult the matter with either regular skipper Babar Azam or his deputy Shadab Khan. However, the left-arm pacer, much like his skipper, was rested for the T20I series, leaving the captaincy duties with Shadab.

Babar Azam's all-format captaincy has become a topic of hot debate in the country, with several former cricketers feeling that the leadership duty has taken a toll on his personal form. Babar, who is currently leading the Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League, has been rested for the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan, along with Shaheen. 

Shaheen put out a cryptic tweet in the early hours of Monday, March 13, hinting at his support for the underfire Babar Azam. 

Shaheen Shah Afridi@iShaheenAfridi

🇵🇰

12:56 AM · Mar 13, 2023

59.6K4.1K

Meanwhile, Shadab Khan, who will be leading Pakistan in the T20I series against Afghanistan, revealed that the players weren't informed about their omission before the squad was announced. He stated that none of the senior players were told who was going to be rested for the T20I series commencing on March 24 in the UAE.

“It is not known whether [Mohammad] Rizwan, Babar or I are being rested in the series against Afghanistan, I am hearing this from you. If there was such a thing, we would have been told,” Shadab was quoted as saying by Geo News. 

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