Cricket

'India se ek haar aur sab kuch bikhar gaya' - Fans react to reported dressing room rift between Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi

Pakistan recently got knocked out of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 after their close defeat by two wickets against Sri Lanka in super-4 match.

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Daniel S
New Update
Babar Azam

It seems like nothing is going right with Pakistan since they got knocked out from the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 after two consecutive defeats against India and Sri Lanka, respectively. Notably, the men in green, including the skipper Babar Azam were under the scanner of criticism from the experts and former cricketers after the humiliating loss of 228 runs against the arch-rivals, India.

Meanwhile, the media reports have learned something which might be utterly devastating for Pakistan’s preparations for the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023, in India. It has been understood by multiple sources that there was a rift and some hot talks between Pak skipper Babar Azam and the star pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi.

As per the media reports, the conversation unfolded as follows:

Babar – Senior players aren’t playing responsibly.

Shaheen – At least appreciate who bowled and batted well.

Babar – I know who’s performing well.

Sensing an increase in the heat of the argument, senior wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan reportedly intervened to calm Babar and Shaheen down. This reported rift and the news of differences among players in the dressing room has spread like wildfire, which will have a lot of negative impact on Pakistan’s preparations for the upcoming marquee international tournament, in India.

Pakistan's World Cup preparations in jeopardy amidst injury concerns

Apart from that, the 1992 World Cup champions have also faced dome injury hits recently as Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf were ruled out of the mid-match during the super-4 clash against India. Later, they were replaced by Mohammad Wasim Jr. and the debutant Zaman Khan in their last super-4 match against Sri Lanka.

Amidst all this, one news has also come as a big nail in Pakistan’s barefoot preparations, which is about the star pacer Naseem Shah getting ruled out of the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023.

Notably, Babar Azam’s men will start their campaign in the World Cup with the first match against the Netherlands on October 6 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.

Here’s how fans reacted to the reported rifts in the Pakistan dressing room:

ODI World Cup 2023 Babar Azam Pakistan Cricket Team Asia Cup 2023 Shaheen Shah Afridi