‘Pakistan was ruined that day’: Former cricketer blames Babar Azam-Shaheen Afridi for team’s downfall | cricket news

Former Pakistan batsman Basit Ali has claimed that the fallout between Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi over the captaincy played a major role in the national team’s decline.Basit’s comments came after Pakistan’s miserable performance in England, where they already lost the three-match Test series 2-0 following a 194-run defeat at Lord’s. The visitors have faced widespread criticism for their performances, with the team struggling to show fight in either of the first two Tests.However, according to Basit, Pakistan’s problems run much deeper than the current results. He believes the leadership dispute between two of the country’s main players created a harmful division within the system.“Babar Azam is not a strong captain. I am not talking about this based on his performance in England. He has made many wrong decisions. The main reason for the decline of cricket in Pakistan is the rift between Shaheen and Babar. When there was a dispute between the two over the captaincy, Pakistan cricket was ruined that day,” Ali said on the ‘Game Plan’ show.He also suggested that the fallout of the dispute is still visible in Pakistan cricket.“A lot of statements were made, saying Shaheen is a very good bowler and Babar is a very good bowler. The rift, whoever created that, the side effects can be seen now,” he added.

Babar and Shaheen’s captaincy saga

Pakistan’s leadership has gone through repeated changes since the 2023 ODI World Cup.Babar resigned as captain after Pakistan’s disappointing campaign in India, and Shaheen subsequently handed over the ODI leadership. However, after Pakistan’s poor results in New Zealand, Babar returned to the captaincy.His second stage didn’t last long either. Babar was dismissed again after Pakistan failed to reach the semi-finals of the 2024 T20 World Cup.The constant reshuffling has left Pakistan with separate captains in all formats. Babar leads the Test side, Shaheen is the ODI captain, while Salman Ali Agha is in charge of the T20I team.Basit believes that the damage caused by the previous captaincy dispute cannot be ignored when assessing Pakistan’s current struggles.

Big changes after the disaster in England

The PCB has started making changes after the disastrous tour of England.On Monday, the board decided to send seven players home, with Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha among those affected. Test coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were also dropped from the organisation.White-ball coach Mike Hesson will take charge of Pakistan for the third and final Test against England in Birmingham.While Babar remains Pakistan’s Test captain, Shaheen has not been a part of the red-ball set-up and is currently out of favor in Test cricket.Babar took over as Shan Masood’s Test captain earlier this year. Under his leadership, Pakistan drew a two-match Test series against the West Indies.However, his own batting form in the longer format remains a cause for concern. Babar has gone four years without scoring a Test century, adding to the pressure surrounding his leadership as Pakistan prepares for the final Test at Edgbaston.