‘I’d bench them all’: Shahid Afridi wants Pakistan to drop Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi after India defeat

However, Shahid Afridi believes that Pakistan management has given enough rope to veteran players like Shaheen, Babar and Shadab.

“If it were up to me to make a decision, I would drop Shaheen, Babar, and Shadab. I would bench them all,” Shahid Afridi said in a panel show for Samaa. “I’d play the new kids, give the youngsters a chance, and in this upcoming match against Namibia, I’d give them the confidence and play them instead. We have been watching these same players for so long. They just keep playing and playing. We always have these expectations that they will perform well against these teams. But if such senior players aren’t delivering for you, then what’s the harm in playing the juniors sitting on the bench? What’s the big difference?”

“They are all senior players who, in my opinion, have a responsibility to perform. You lose matches. But nobody loses like this. Nobody loses in such a one-sided manner. My point is, this is the Pakistan team; you have to fight! We have also played cricket; we have lost many times, but I don’t recall us ever playing or losing in this specific way. We’ve lost, but we fought,” Afridi added.

Salman Ali Agha’s captaincy under lens

Afridi was critical of Salman Ali Agha’s captaincy and the way he threw away his wicket in the second over of the Pakistan innings.

“India deserved to win if you looked at their batting, bowling and fielding. When you look at the captain Salman Ali Agha, barring the decision to bowl the first over himself, I didn’t understand any of the decisions that he made. For 10 overs, our trump card in bowling, Usman Tariq, was hidden away even though the Indians were scoring runs. Gandi kaptaani hui hai (that was bad captaincy). You know that Shaheen wasn’t that confident after the first over, and yet, he was given the final over. I don’t know why we have kept Faheem Ashraf in the team. Looking at past matches, Faheem Ashraf has bowled maybe one or two overs, but he has also bowled the 18th, 19th, or 20th over in the World Cup. Yet, we gave the over to Shaheen and not to him.”

Pakistan’s captain Salman Ali Agha, left, leaves the ground after losing his wicket as teammate Usman Khan walks in during the T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (AP Photo)

“When the leader himself plays such a stupid shot and walks back to the dressing room, what is he supposed to do? My point is, when the leader gets out and your top three are gone within the first six overs, it creates a negative impact on the dressing room. That is exactly when the body language starts to drop,” Afridi said.

WATCH: Angry Shahid Afridi slams Pakistan team after India defeat

Afridi then pointed the finger at the Pakistan batters, singling out Babar Azam.

“If you look at the batting decisions, the Indian bowlers exposed Pakistan’s top-order batting lineup. Wherever the ball bounced or swung even a little bit, our batsmen’s footwork and technique just fell apart. Obviously, when people don’t fulfill their specific responsibilities, then you shouldn’t keep any high hopes. We know our bowling strength, but when runs are being scored against you, you need batsmen who can chase those runs down. Honestly, the way our openers got out today, or the way Babar got out… I mean, I wasn’t expecting Babar to try and play across the line to a ball right in front of him.”

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Batting muddle

Afridi questioned what the Pakistan batters were “trying to achieve”.

“What more do the batsmen want than such a batting-friendly wicket? If the bowlers are bowling well, at least don’t play ‘disrespectful’ cricket against them. You can at least play proper cricketing shots in the circle if the bowling is good. But today, I was stunned—what were our batsmen even doing?”

India’s Hardik Pandya, right, celebrates with teammate Ishan Kishan the wicket of Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan, center, during the T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo)

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He then turned the lens on the bowling unit, which bowled 18 overs of spin to India.

“If you count your bowling options, in my opinion, aside from Shaheen, who else do you have as a fast bowler? Just Faheem Ashraf. As bowling options, you have Faheem Ashraf, Nawaz, Shadab, Usman, Abrar, and Saim Ayub. That’s roughly eight bowlers in total. Salman is there himself as well. Wouldn’t it have been better to go with five genuine bowlers or one all-rounder and lengthen your batting instead? I will say it again: you never take a senior player on a major tour just to let them sit on the bench. I’m talking about Fakhar Zaman. I think these are some of the mistakes we’ve made.

“Even back when we played, our bowling was always solid. We had all-rounders like Shoaib Malik or Mohammad Hafeez, with Abdul Razzaq in the middle. But our top-order players were genuine batsmen. They took responsibility. They batted through the overs. You have to at least stay out there and play! If the bowling is good, take your time; the opportunity will come. You don’t have to dominate from the very first ball. Sometimes when someone is bowling well, you show respect and think, ‘Let me take a little time until things become easier to manage.’ After that, we have batsmen lower down the order who, if given the last three overs, can chase down the required runs. They can do it! But the batsmen have to actually stay at the crease first.”