World Cup 2023: It is not a bed of roses – Shahid Afridi slams Babar Azam’s captaincy

Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has slammed Babar Azam for his mundane captaincy in the ongoing World Cup 2023. After winning their opening two matches, Pakistan have lost their last three matches in the ongoing tournament.

Pakistan was stunned by Afghanistan in their last match as the latter won by eight wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Monday. Afridi lashed out at Babar Azam for not putting a slip when Afghanistan needed four runs to win with 12 balls remaining.

The former all-rounder feels Pakistan has failed to create pressure on the opposition due to Babar Azam’s lackluster captaincy and it has led to the team’s downfall.

“It is the captain’s job to apply pressure, a pacer is bowling and there is no slip? Four are required on 12 balls and you’ve taken backward point? Apply pressure. What do the Australians do? They take one to two wickets and then put all of their players in the circle to apply pressure, like they did against Pakistan,” Afridi was quoted as saying to a local.

“Captaining your national side is a matter of honour, but it is not a bed of roses. When you do good, everyone praises you and when you don’t, everyone blames you as well as the head coach,” Afridi added.

On the other hand, former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis also criticized the team for their rubbish performance against Afghanistan.

“Let’s not talk about Pakistan cricket. They played rubbish cricket. Afghanistan played some superb cricket,” Waqar said on Star Sports.

Pakistan posted a decent score of 282 runs on the board against Afghanistan but their bowling once again lacked the teeth.

The Men in Green will next take on South Africa at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Friday and they will look to turn the tables against the in-form Proteas.