USA vs PAK: MS Dhoni mentioned as Babar Azam's captaincy debate leads to ugly fight between Ahmed Shehzad, Imam-ul-Haq

Former T20 World Cup champion Ahmed Shehzad criticized Babar Azam's reappointment as Pakistan's white-ball captain ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the USA. Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq countered Ahmed Shehzad's statement and promised to maintain his stance even as he gets older.

Babar Azam stepped down from captaincy across three formats after Pakistan's disappointing performance in the ODI World Cup 2023. Pakistan failed to advance to the semi-finals in last year's tournament. Babar was replaced by Shan Masood as Test skipper, and Shaheen Afridi took over the charge of the T20I team.

Shaheen Afridi captained the Pakistan team in a five-match T20I series against New Zealand earlier this year. The Men in Green suffered a 1-4 loss in New Zealand. Lahore Qalandars had a poor performance in the PSL 2024 under Afridi's leadership. Babar was brought back to the captaincy of Pakistan in white-ball formats.

The Men in Green suffered a 2-0 series loss in their last bilateral series before the T20 World Cup. The Pakistan cricket team also registered losses against Ireland and a second-string New Zealand team before the England series. The Babar Azam-led team aims to deliver strong performances in the ICC tournament.

I understand if you were MS Dhoni that you were brought back - Ahmed Shehzad on Babar Azam

Ahmed Shehzad highlighted how decisions like carrying out-of-form players for too long could hinder opportunities for deserving talents in domestic cricket. Shehzad emphasized the need for improvement in the selection process for the Pakistan national cricket team.

"We don’t play cricket to win bilateral series but to win ICC events. Did we win any event in the last 4-5 years? If we didn’t win, I would say there are gangs, friendships, and tola with an agent who has been manipulating cricket for the last 4-5 years," he said on Geo TV.

"They [Sarfaraz Ahmed and Co.] produced the results, won the Champions Trophy. It justifies, you also win this event and justify. However, you’ve got a longer run, one captain doesn’t get five events. You were removed and then brought back. I understand if you were MS Dhoni that you were brought back."

When Imam-ul-Haq was asked to shed light on this matter, he looked to defend Babar Azam and said:

"Babar was removed without his consent and reinstated without his consent as well. The board re-appointed him as captain. In 2021, we reached the semifinals. Later in 2022, we played the final, which means there were performances. We didn’t win, that can be a debate. We didn’t click in the final. You can say Babar likes these lot of players but terming it as friendship is quite personal."

I promise you that when I’ll be 36, my stand will be the same - Imam-ul-Haq

After Imam's comments, Shehzad hit back strongly and said that he said those things because he is centrally contracted with PCB and still has a lot of years left in cricket.

"We understand that Imam is in a central contract, he is young. We spoke the same when were at his age. I’m 34, sick and tired of things. We want things to be better. When you drag players for 4-5 years, you do wrong with those performing in domestic. Someone else takes their rights," Shehzad said.

Imam-ul-Haq responded to Ahmed Shehzad's criticism by asserting that age should not dictate one's ability to express concerns. He emphasized that he would maintain his stance regardless of his age.

"I am in a central contract. I have been playing for the last 6-7 years but I promise you that when I’ll be 36, my stand will be the same. If someone has a problem, they can speak if they are 28 as well. Why don’t you say that?" Imam-ul-Haq said.

The Pakistan cricket team will start their T20 World Cup campaign with a game against the United States of America (USA) at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Thursday, June 6. Veteran all-rounder Imad Wasim has been sidelined from the first match due to a side strain.