Shaheen Afridi openly mocks Babar Azam’s slow strike rate, exposes Mike Hesson’s mindset

Pakistan National Cricket Team pacer Shaheen Afridi has dropped a massive hint about the divide inside the current dressing room after their painful two-wicket loss to England in their Super 8 clash of the T20 World Cup 2026 on February 24 in Pallekelle.

Shaheen Afridi drops dressing room bomb after Pakistan’s close loss to England in T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 match

After a close defeat against England, many fans felt the Pakistan team started slow and could manage only 164/9 on the board in their 20 overs despite Sahibzada Farhan’s another impressive knock of 63 runs off 45 balls. Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman each contributed 25 runs, while Shadab Khan ran out for 23 runs.

Read Also: Fans go berserk as England beat Pakistan; compare Harry Brook with Virat Kohli

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The rest of the lineup could manage a single-digit score against England. Defending the modest target, Shaheen Afridi did a fantastic job by removing both openers, Phil Salt for a duck and Jos Buttler for 2, and then the pacer also dismissed the number four batter, Jacob Bethell, for 8 inside the powerplay.

However, Harry Brook’s century was enough for England to cross the line inside the 20 overs against Pakistan in Pallekelle. After the Super 8 clash, Afridi, who was the standout bowler for Pakistan with 4/30 against England, has added more fuel to the fire with his bold reactions that clearly pointed towards bigger issues in the team.

Shaheen Afridi slams Babar Azam’s slow tempo

Babar Azam tried to build a partnership as he focused on settling in, but in T20 cricket, survival alone is not enough. Taking a dig at Babar’s slow batting, Shaheen made it clear that a proper partnership in T20 needs power and pace to keep the run rate close to eight per over from start to finish.

When Babar got out for 25 off 24 balls, the innings collapsed. The middle order struggled. They lost the momentum against England. Shaheen gave credit to England spinner Adil Rashid for his tight bowling, which made scoring even tougher.

Shaheen Afridi said at the post-match press conference, "Partnership means you need someone at the crease who can hit boundaries and also rotate the strike with singles and doubles. In T20 cricket, you need to maintain around eight runs per over throughout the innings. But I think Adil Rashid bowled very well.”

Read Also: Pakistan out of the T20 World Cup after loss to England? Qualification Scenarios explained

“Too Many All-Rounders”: Shaheen Afridi on Mike Hesson’s

Another big talking point is team selection. Pakistan packed the side with multiple all-rounders. When asked about this strategy and whether it reflects head coach Mike Hesson’s thinking, Shaheen avoided direct blame.

He said, “I can’t comment on it,” which showed questions are being raised inside the camp too.

Shaheen Afridi sends a strong message about his own role

Pakistan’s former T20 captain also spoke strongly about his own position in the team. There have been talks about rotation and possible changes in the bowling attack.

But he made one thing clear: whenever he plays, his job is to strike early, take wickets, and put the opposition under pressure from the first over. Afridi stressed that he wants to attack from ball one and does not care about outside opinions.

Afridi signed off by saying, “It doesn’t matter if I get dropped. Whenever I play, my job is to take early wickets for Pakistan. That’s why I bowl the first over, and I don’t want to prove anything to anyone. I just want to prove myself.”