"It's time to take a decision:" Afridi demands PCB to remove Babar as captain

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has demanded the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to remove star player Babar Azam as captain of the white-ball team.

The 42-year-old batter is currently representing Pakistan in the World Championship of Legends in London.

Following the match, Afridi expressed his views while talking to a private news channel.

"I believe in one thing, if you take any decision, give the system, the coach or the captain full opportunity and time, let them work," he said.

Afridi noted that he, Misbah-ul-Haq, and Younis Khan also captained the team, but Babar Azam received an unprecedented amount of opportunities.

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Shahid Afridi said "Babar Azam has been given enough chances as captain. No captain in Pakistan history got chances and freedom as Babar. It's time to move on and do the surgery" 🇵🇰✅pic.twitter.com/SR4AYddHCa

— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) July 10, 2024

"He led [team] in 2-3 World Cups, 2-3 Asia Cups, now, whoever is brought in should be given full time and opportunity. It's time to take a decision" the Boom Boom added.

Earlier today, PCB removed Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq from the national selection committee setup.

"The Pakistan Cricket Board today confirmed that it has notified Abdul Razzaq and Wahab Riaz that their services will no longer be required in the national selection committee setup. Abdul Razzaq was a member of the men’s and women’s selection committee, while Wahab was a member of the men’s selection committee," a statement issued by the cricket body read.

"The PCB will provide further updates on the selection committee’s composition in due course," it added.

Reacting to the development, Afridi also questioned the PCB's decision to sack only Wahab and Razzaq from the selection body.

"I didn't understand this surgery... why only them? The selection committee had 6-7 members, so why single out these two?"

Babar has been under severe scrutiny following Pakistan's early exit from the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024, co-hosted by the USA and West Indies.

In the mega event, the Men in Green suffered consecutive defeats against the debutant USA and India and eventually bowed out of the tournament in the group stage after the match between America and Ireland was washed away due to rain.