Shaheen Shah Afridi faced intense criticism on social media after Pakistan dropped him for their must-win Group A match against Namibia at the Sinhala Sports Club in Colombo on Wednesday, February 18. In place of the left-arm seamer, Pakistan brought in fellow left-armer Salman Mirza, who was on the bench for the matches against the USA and India despite taking three wickets against the Netherlands earlier in the tournament.
Shaheen has endured an underwhelming campaign so far, managing just three wickets while conceding runs at an economy rate of 11.22. During a high-voltage encounter against India on Sunday, February 15, Shaheen gave away 31 runs in his two overs, despite being held to the wicket of Axar Patel.
World Cup T20 Pakistan vs Namibia Updates
Notably, he was the only specialist Pakistan fielded in this game and his expensive spell dented the team’s chances significantly. The costly outing saw Pakistan suffer a 61-run defeat, their biggest loss to India by runs.
Reports have suggested this before Both Shaheen and Babar Azam could be benched for Namibia as even Babar failed to hit against India when Axar dismissed him. However, when the playing XI was announced, only Shaheen was left out, with Babar retaining his place in the side.
PAKISTAN ALSO DROP ABRAR AHMED
Apart from Shaheen, Pakistan also dropped spinner Abrar Ahmed, who conceded 38 runs in the three overs he bowled in the previous game. The team management instead decided to strengthen the batting line-up and brought in Khawaja Nafay, who did not feature in the first three matches of the tournament.
Meanwhile, fans took to social media to mock Shaheen’s exclusion. Some sarcastically commented that Namibia’s chances of an upset had diminished and joked that it was unfortunate news for Namibia that Shaheen was not part of Pakistan’s playing XI.
One fan wrote: “Sad news for Namibia, Shaheen Shah Afridi not playing today.”
It remains to be seen whether Shaheen will earn a recall for the next match in Pakistan, assuming the team secures qualification to the Super 8 stage of the competition.
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Here is how Shaheen Shah Afridi was trolled
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Issued by:
sabyasachi chowdhury
Published on:
February 18, 2026