T20 World Cup 2024: Ahmed Shehzad takes a brutal dig at Babar Azam

Pakistan cricketer Ahmed Shehzad did not hold back when discussing current captain Babar Azam's leadership during the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 co-hosted by the USA and West Indies. 

Shehzad's remarks were pointed and harsh, reflecting his disappointment with Azam's captaincy and performance.

In a recent interview with a local news channel, the opening batter shared some compelling yet harsh remarks about the team's current situation, mainly focusing on Babar Azam's average and strike rate in scoring runs for the team during major tournaments.

 “Look at your scores in big tournaments, your stats, your average, and your strike rate. What kind of a king, Babar Azam … What do I do with a King who does not win you matches? There is a stat that your big scores have come from losing causes,” Shehzad said.

The left-handed batter also pointed out that, despite being provided with all the necessary resources, including a salary increase by the PCB, the 29-year-old skipper has failed to score runs against top-tier teams, only managing to perform against B, C, and D teams.

“You have hallucinated people by scoring runs against B, C, and D teams,” started Shehzad when he was asked to comment on Pakistan’s latest loss to India in New York on Sunday. “Your salaries were increased by PCB to evolve your game, but you put their money on social media for image building and nothing else,” he said.

Furthermore, he went on to accuse Azam of favoritism in team selection. He also lambasted the skipper for failing to build a strong team despite being the captain for five years.

“You have picked your friends and given them 40 matches to prove their worth and this is hurting Pakistan cricket. You can give 40 matches to this 40-year-old (pointing towards former PAK player Imran Nazir), and he will also give you performances at this age. Look at our domestic performers, they are ignored and they are leaving the country, going to the USA and UAE to play cricket,” he said.

“You are a middle-order batter and a leader, and you had five years to build the team, but you have not been able to develop a single middle-order batter; there is no proper allrounder in the team. You did not develop anyone; you only needed players who hit blindly because you want to bat for 15 overs, and then you have these players come in and try to hit blindly,” he concluded.