Shaheen Afridi confesses as Pakistan are punished after winning the three series; Babar advised to ‘go to Australia’ amid poor form

Final – Pakistan Vs. Sri Lanka – Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan – 31 October 2026 Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi with Haris Rauf during the final The Pakistan men’s cricket team was fined five percent of its match fee on Monday for maintaining a slow over-rate during Pakistan’s ODI tri-series final against Sri Lanka in Lahore on Saturday.After match referee Jeff Crowe took time limits into account, the hosts were found to be outnumbered by one.“Their breach was in accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rates, players are fined five per cent of their match fee for anyone their side does not play within the stipulated time,” the ICC said in a statement.On field umpire Ahsan Raza and Wayne Knights, third umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid and fourth umpire Rashid Riaz leveled the attack.Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi admitted to slow overs and accepted the proposed sanction, the ICC further said.The fine comes after Pakistan recorded a thrilling three-wicket victory over Sri Lanka to lift the trophy in three series in front of their home crowd. Chasing a mammoth target of 326, the hosts reached 331 for seven with nine balls to spare to complete the tournament run.Fakhar Zaman was the main architect of Pakistan’s successful chase, scoring 127 off 99 deliveries, his 12th ODI century. He got valuable support from Saad Baig, who scored 74 off 75 balls, as the pair rescued the hosts after the early dismissals of Maaz Sadaqat (5 off 7) and Babar Azam (0 off 5).With Pakistan needing a late boost after Zaman’s dismissal, Arafat Minhas made a crucial contribution as he smashed 61 off just 31 deliveries, including four sixes and as many boundaries. His aggressive knocking brought the equation within reach before Shaheen sealed victory with a six.Earlier, Kamindu Mendis hit 131 while Pavan Rathnayake contributed 77 to take Sri Lanka to 325 for eight. However, their efforts proved insufficient as Pakistan completed their chase for the tri-series title.

Yousuf advises struggling Babar to ‘go to Australia’

Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf on Sunday advised star Pakistan batsman Babar Azam to travel to Australia or South Africa and seek specialist help to address technical flaws in his batting, saying playing first-class cricket alone may not be enough to resolve his long-term slump.Babar’s struggles came under the spotlight again during Pakistan’s big chase against Sri Lanka in the tri-series final on Saturday when he failed to contribute much despite his team’s triumph in the tournament.“He should go to South Africa or Australia and just focus on batting work now. That will help him,” Yousuf said on social media on Sunday, as quoted by news agency PTI.Babar, who has scored just one century in one-day internationals in the last three years, will lead Pakistan in the two-Test series against Sri Lanka from November 9, but there have been serious doubts over his place in the white-ball line-ups.The 32-year-old, who has 20 hundreds in ODIs, has already dropped out of the T20 format and will need to show a major turnaround in form and batting attitude if he is to make Pakistan’s squad for next year’s World Cup.He has also decided to play a first-class match for Lahore in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, which starts on November 3, to prepare for the upcoming Test series.