Shaheen Afridi breaks silence on captaincy, misconduct reports

Pakistan pace bowler Shaheen Afridi on Monday opened up on the rumours of infighting in the team for captaincy and reports of his misconduct with team staff.

Afridi received severe backlash after reports emerged of his alleged altercation with batting coach Mohammad Yousuf during the Greenshirts’ tour to Ireland and England ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024.

Reacting to the reports, the left-handed pacer asserted that his upbringing did not allow him to bring negativity into the team.

“All team members are my friends. I was raised well and I always fight for my country,” said Shaheen Afridi.

Apart from misconduct allegations, reports said that change in the captaincy just before the T20 World Cup 2024 has severed ties between the pacer and white-ball captain Babar Azam.

Without mentioning their name, legendary pacer Wasim Akram had claimed that the two top players were not on talking terms during the marquee event.

However, Afridi has now responded to such reports, saying that captaincy was not his prime focus, instead, he wanted to represent Pakistan to the best of his abilities.

“I never think about captaincy. My prime focus is to represent my country and would never bring negativity into the team,” he said.

Amid his alleged misconduct with support staff, several local media outlets reported that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would not consider Shaheen Afridi for the upcoming home Test series against Bangladesh.

When asked to share his views on the reports, Shaheen stated that he was unaware of such rumours.

“I don’t know if I’m being dropped from the Test series [against Bangladesh]. My role is to play cricket and I would do that with dignity,” he added.

Speculations about an alleged dispute between Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi intensified after Pakistan’s poor run at the T20 World Cup 2024.

Later, reports suggested that Pakistan’s former captains would resolve the alleged dispute between the three senior members of the national team.