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3 min readFeb 19, 2026 04:52 PM IST
Shadab and a few other senior players in the current Pakistan team like Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi played starring roles when they had defeated India by 10 wickets in a group-stage match of the 2021 T20 World Cup. (AP Photo)
Shadab Khan pointing out that none of the Pakistan players criticising the current lot now managed to beat India in a World Cup hasn’t gone down too well. Shadab and the rest of the Pakistan team have copped some scathing criticism after they lost to India in the T20 World Cup by 61 runs. When asked about the criticism, Shadab first said that the former players are entitled to their opinions before pointing out that none of them managed to do what they did in 2021, which was to beat India in a World Cup amtch, T20I or ODI.
Shadab and a few other senior players in the current Pakistan team like Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi played starring roles when they had defeated India by 10 wickets in a group-stage match of the 2021 T20 World Cup. However, that and the 2017 Champions Trophy final remains the only two victories that Pakistan have had over their arch-rivals in ICC tournaments.
“Our former cricketers have their own opinions, and they have done great things for Pakistan. But at the end of the day, even in the World Cup, we as a team have achieved results, like defeating India in 2021. They never did that. So criticism is part of cricket and they can be questioned as well,” said Shadab.
Former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir later pointed out in the Pakistani Game Show that while it is true that previous teams didn’t have success against India in World Cups, the equation between the two sides was quite different. “Yes, in 2021, Pakistan beat India. But there is a difference between India-Pakistan matches in the 90s and now. Earlier, the Indian team feared us because they knew we could beat them. Now they don’t take us seriously. They don’t even celebrate wickets or victories,” he said on the Pakistani show Game on hai.
Meanwhile, former player Basit Ali pointed out that among those criticising the curent lot of players was Shadab’s own father-in-law, Pakistan spin great Saqlain Mushtaq. “You should not say these things to your father-in-law,” Basit said on ARY News. “He shouldn’t have replied to his father-in-law like that. The kind of match-winner Saqlain was, he would have had 10 Shadabs in his pocket. Players in the 90s were not selected based on recommendations; they made the team purely on performance. Some journalists should ask him about his own performance. Is he a bowling all-rounder or a batting all-rounder?”
Basit then alleged that Shadab is in the side because of his relationship with head coach Mike Hesson. “Against weaker teams, he is promoted to bat in the top order. Why? Because he is Mike Hesson’s ladla (favourite). Had it been Inzamam, Waqar or Saqlain in charge, I would have seen where he would bat. I remember taking the A team to England. The whole time, he was busy on his mobile phone. I ended up snatching both his phones.”
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