The Shaheen Afridi-Babar Azam rift is being blamed for the downfall of cricket in Pakistan

Babar Azam’s management has come under fresh scrutiny after former Pakistan batsman Basit Ali blamed his rift with Shaheen Shah Afridi for the national team’s decline in international cricket. Basit argued that their fallout over captaincy had a detrimental effect on Pakistan cricket.

Then came Basita’s explosive comments Pakistan suffered a crushing 194-run defeat by England at Lord’sThey lost 0-2 in the three-match Test series. Pakistan have come under heavy 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 management contributed to the rift between the two senior players.

“Babar Azam is not a strong captain. I am not talking about it based on his performance in England. He made many wrong decisions. The main reason for the downfall of Pakistan cricket is the rift between Shaheen and Babar. When there was a disagreement between them over the captaincy, Pakistan cricket was destroyed that day,” Ali said on ‘Game Plan’.

“There have been many statements that Shaheen is a very good bowler and Babar is a very good bowler. The rift, whoever created it, the side effects are already being seen,” he added.

Babar was again removed as T20I captain 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 after Pan’s defeat. Seven players, including Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha, were sent homewhile Test coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling chief 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 started his tenure with a two-match series draw against the West Indies but 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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Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

1 Sep 2026 09:53 IST