Rahul Dravid mentioned as Rashid Latif suggests a way to solve rift between Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi

Former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif came up with a massive statement after the team’s ouster in the T20 World Cup 2024. He said that the Men in Green need someone like Rahul Dravid to be between Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi to solve their issues and help the team be on the right track. 

Things haven’t been great for the Pakistan Cricket Team of late. Not only in terms of performances, there have been a lot of controversies going around as well. The bonding between the players in the team isn’t great either as suggested by various reports. 

Two of the premier players Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi reportedly have some differences between them. This is because of the captaincy saga and due to this, the performance of the team was hampered. 

Babar Azam was removed as the captain of the team after the ICC World Cup 2023 and the management announced Shaheen Afridi as the leader. The fast bowler, however, didn’t have a great outing as the captain in his first series as Pakistan lost 4-1 against New Zealand in T20Is. 

After that he was removed as the captain of the team and Babar Azam was again reappointed as the skipper. This didn’t seem to impress the fast bowler as he was left disappointed, which was quite evident with the cryptic stories that he posted on Instagram. 

The change in the captaincy saga didn’t work for Pakistan at all as they failed to win against New Zealand, and England and also lost a match against Ireland. Not only this they then faced early exit from the T20 World Cup 2024. This made many call the poor bonding between the players as the reason behind the loss. 

Rashid Latif stated that had Rahul Dravid been not there between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, India wouldn’t have been able to win. He stated that Pakistan also needs a fatherly figure to maintain the integration. He claimed that they would need to solve the problem between the players so the team would be on track. Speaking during a live show, he stated: 

“The fatherly figure point used by Kamran bhai. If he (Dravid) wasn't there, they (Rohit and Kohli) wouldn't have been able to win. Now, show us the last picture of Shaheen Afridi and Babar Azam. We need someone who can bring them together again. 

“Everyone knows the problem. No one is talking. If these two are one, the team will stand. They were the same as before. They make one the captain. The second was upset. They made the second the captain. The third was upset. Solve this. The rest keep playing. It was the same team. The boys are the same. “

Pakistani team need one fatherly figure personality between Babar and Shaheen just like Rahul Dravid between Rohit and Virat. @DrNaumanNiaz @krick3r pic.twitter.com/2zfPgYNP9Y

— Rashid Latif | 🇵🇰 (@iRashidLatif68) July 1, 2024

Change two or three. Divide and rule - Rashid Latif 

Rashid Latif further stated that PCB needs to change everything and eliminate the divide and rule. He pointed out how cutting the salaries of the players will help. He explained: 

“Divide and rule was created by PCB chiefs. Now, you are thinking that you will reduce the money in the central contract. Where were you giving one lakh dollars to a player? So, think about it. What is your thinking?” He concluded.