Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi gave a well-rounded reply to Shadab Khan after the former cricketer hit out for their criticism, reminding them that his generation beat India at the 2021 ICC event.
Afridi acknowledged Pakistan’s World T20 win over India in 2021 but he suggested that the current team could not handle the success that followed. The exchange highlights the growing tension between Pakistan’s current players and former stars amid the team’s inconsistent performances in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026.
Shadab had earlier defended his generation against the criticism of former players. “Our former cricketers have their own opinions and they have done great things for Pakistan. But at the end of the day, even in the World Cup, we as a team have achieved results like defeating India in 2021. So criticism is part of the history of cricket,” Shadab said during a press conference.
Afridi conceded this but asked what happened next. “Shadab is absolutely right – we didn’t win, we won against India in the World Cup. They earned respect but failed to handle it. That
I mean after 2021, whatever problems they had with each other, they couldn’t handle it individually, they couldn’t handle it as a team,” Afridi said.
AFRIDI REMINDS SHADAB OF PAST SUPPORT
The former captain reminded Shadab that former cricketers supported him during his lean patches. “Shadab should also know that when he was not performing well, when he was dropped from the team, we were the ones who sat on TV channels and said that Shadab is the backbone, Shadab’s overs are very important, he can also bat. We were the ones who spoke about Shadab,” Afridi said.
Shahid Afridi on Shadab’s Controversial Remarks:
Shadab is right that they earned respect after beating India but couldn’t keep it.
simply put,
Afridi said: some people don’t know how to handle honor.
This boy will kill me… pic.twitter.com/GygX6mic5V— Ankit Malik (@ankitmalik22) February 20, 2026
Shadab came under scrutiny after his disastrous performance against India in their group stage clash in Colombo. He scored 14 off 15 balls and conceded 17 runs in one over as India won by 61 runs.
PERFORMANCE AGAINST WEAKER OPPONENTS?
Afridi made sharp distinctions between Shadab’s performances against different opponents. “Shadab son, you featured against Namibia. I hope you feature against New Zealand, you will play in the future,” he said.
Shadab scored an unbeaten 36 off 22 balls to finish with figures of 3/19 against Namibia as Pakistan won by 102 runs.
Afridi recalled how criticism was prevalent during his playing days, but emphasized that his team had proven themselves against top opposition. In 2009, he won the 2009 World Cup Player of the Match award for his all-round performance, taking 1/20 and scoring an unbeaten 54 to lead Pakistan to victory.
Pakistan qualified for the Super 8 despite losing to India. The team, led by Salman Ali Agha, will next face New Zealand, who are looking to push deeper into the tournament.
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– The end
Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
February 20, 2026