Shaheen Afridi-Babar Azam rift blamed for Pakistan cricket's downfall

Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali has blamed the fallout between Shaheen Shah Afridi and Babar Azam for the decline of Pakistan cricket, claiming the dispute over captaincy was the moment everything started to unravel for the national team.

In Short

• Pakistan trail England 0-2 in the three-match Test series after Lord's defeat
• PCB sent seven players home and removed Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul
• Babar Azam has gone four years without scoring a Test century for Pakistan

Babar Azam's leadership has come under fresh scrutiny after former Pakistan batter Basit Ali blamed his rift with Shaheen Shah Afridi for the national team's decline in international cricket. Basit claimed their fallout over the captaincy had a damaging impact on Pakistan cricket.

Basit's explosive comments came after Pakistan suffered a crushing 194-run defeat to England at Lord's, leaving them 0-2 down in the three-match Test series. Pakistan have come under severe criticism for their performances in the first two Tests, with the team accused of showing little fight against Joe Root's side.

Babar stepped down as Pakistan captain after the 2023 ODI World Cup, with Shaheen taking over the T20I captaincy. However, Pakistan's poor results in New Zealand led to Babar reclaiming the role, with Shaheen removed from the captaincy.

Basit believes the change in leadership contributed to a rift between the two senior players.

"Babar Azam is not a strong captain. I am not speaking about this based on the performance in England. He has made many wrong decisions. The main reason for Pakistan cricket's downfall is the rift between Shaheen and Babar. When there was a falling-out between the two over the captaincy, Pakistan cricket was ruined that day," Ali said on the 'Game Plan' show.

"Many statements were made, saying Shaheen is a very good bowler and Babar is a very good bowler. The rift, whoever created that, the side effects can be seen now," he added.

Babar was removed from the T20I captaincy again after Pakistan failed to reach the semi-finals of the 2024 T20 World Cup. The team subsequently adopted separate captains across formats, with Babar leading the Test side, Shaheen captaining the ODI team and Salman Ali Agha in charge of the T20Is.

The PCB made further changes following the Lord's defeat. Seven players, including Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha, were sent home, while Test coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling head Umar Gul were also removed from their positions.

White-ball coach Mike Hesson will take charge of Pakistan for the third and final Test against England in Birmingham.

Babar was appointed Test captain earlier this year after replacing Shan Masood. He began his tenure with a drawn two-match series against the West Indies but has faced scrutiny over his leadership and batting form.

The right-hander has gone four years without scoring a Test century, while Shaheen has been left out of Pakistan's red-ball plans.

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