PAK vs CAN: Shahid Afridi demands Babar Azam's removal from Pakistan team as an opener

Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi came up with some suggestions for the Pakistan Cricket Team going ahead into the T20 World Cup 2024. He said that team skipper Babar Azam should demote himself to No.3 and Fakhar Zaman should open the batting.

Pakistan team have found themselves in the middle of nowhere in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. They started the tournament on a poor note as they faced a disappointing loss against the United States of America and it was expected that they would come up with a better performance against India.

They did to some extent as they played better cricket than India for a major part of the game. But they failed to close the game as they succumbed to pressure and then went on to lose the game from the winning position at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.

It's fair to say that their batters let them down as they failed to chase the target after bowlers set up the game pretty well for them. They bundled out India for 119 runs and then with the bat were at 56/1. But after that things didn't go their way as they managed just 113 runs.

Shahid Afridi believes that it's now time for skipper Babar Azam and head coach Gary Kirsten to make some bold calls. He batted for the inclusion of Salman Ali Agha and Abrar Ahmed in the team in place of Usman Khan and Shadab Khan respectively. Speaking to ICC, he explained:

"I think now is the time for Gary Kirsten and Babar Azam to make some changes. I would like to see Salman Ali Agha come into the side in place of Usman Khan and Abrar Ahmed to come in for Shadab Khan.

"Most of all, I believe Fakhar Zaman should be promoted to open the innings alongside Mohammad Rizwan, with Babar dropping down to number three. There are some tough conversations and choices to come but we need to remember that there is still hope: Pakistan are not out of the tournament yet."

India have now won seven of their eight matches against Pakistan at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup - Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi further talked about the key differences between the teams, saying India had self-belief. He also admitted that Pakistan's batting isn't clicking and they are lacking quality. He also talked about India's record over Pakistan, adding that Babar Azam and Co. failed to handle pressure. He added:

"The key difference between the two teams was India's consistency, self-belief, discipline and attitude on the field. The Pakistan batting line-up simply isn't clicking and what we saw was a weak display of power hitting. For several reasons, this game wasn't about playing aggressively. But strategy and smart cricket were required to get the run chase over the line, and those qualities are exactly what Pakistan lacked.

"India have now won seven of their eight matches against Pakistan at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup and Pakistan fans are highly disappointed. On the big days, you have to have nerves of steel until you make it through. India stayed positive and calm until the last ball and the pressure of the run chase was not handled well by Babar Azam's side,"

Pakistan will be next seen in action when they take on Canada on 11th June.