Shahid Afridi Shadab Khan: ‘Leave alone the captaincy, I should not even keep him in the team’, Shahid Afridi was shocked to hear the name of which Pakistani?

New Delhi. In the T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistan cricket team was eliminated from the Super 8 round itself. Since then there has been an earthquake in Pakistan cricket. Players and management are the target of former cricketers of Pakistan. The debate has also started on the leadership of the team. Meanwhile, a statement by former Pakistan veteran all-rounder Shahid Afridi has created a stir. Afridi has strongly criticized Shadab Khan and said that he is not even worth keeping in the team. Let us tell you that this was the fourth consecutive time that the Pakistani team could not make it to the semi-finals of the ICC event. In such a situation, there is uncertainty regarding the current T20 captain Salman Ali Aga.

According to media reports, if the board makes changes in leadership then Shadab and fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi could be his possible successors. However, Afridi made it clear that he does not consider Shadab as part of the solution. In an interview given to ‘Sama TV’, this veteran of Pakistan said, ‘Looking at his performance, I will not even keep him in the team, leave alone handing over the captaincy.’ In the tournament, Shadab scored 118 runs and took five wickets in 7 matches. Afridi has raised questions on the continuous support the all-rounder is getting.

Questions raised on support received
Afridi said, ‘Mike Hesson has previously worked with Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League. Mike Hesson became the coach of Pakistan only after his tenure in PSL. From there his partnership with Shadab started. The head coach is giving opportunities to Shadab again and again. This is why I had said that Shadab can become the next captain of Pakistan, but looking at his recent performance, he does not even deserve a place in the playing eleven.

Pakistan upset against big teams
In the T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistan made a great start to its campaign by winning against Netherlands by 3 wickets and against USA by 32 runs. After this, it had to face defeat against India by 61 runs. However, Pakistan defeated Namibia by 102 runs in their last group stage match. Pakistan’s first Super-8 match was against Netherlands, but due to rain, 1-1 points were distributed between the two teams. After this England defeated them by 2 wickets. Pakistan needed to win against Sri Lanka by a margin of at least 65 runs to reach the semi-finals, but this team could win the match by only 5 runs. In such a situation, Pakistan could not get the ticket for the semi-finals.

Pakistan cricket team.

Instability in leadership has further increased the team’s problems. When Agha was made captain last year, he became Pakistan’s fourth T20 captain in 12 months. In his first World Cup as a leader, he scored just 60 runs in seven innings at an average of 10.00. Afridi believes that a more aggressive approach is needed to move forward and has supported opener Fakhar Zaman. He said, ‘Looking at the current situation, I will go with Fakhar Zaman. I want an aggressive captain. Right now, only one player is fit for the job, and that is Fakhar. After poor performance in a global tournament, Pakistan was forced to think again. In such a situation, important decisions regarding leadership and team composition are going to be taken soon.