'If he doesn't want to take pressure, he can come to me and play in my league': Afridi's brutal remark on Pakistan star

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi spoke in detail about the Pakistan player, and made a rather savage remark while discussing his poor outings in the recent games.

Pakistan are taking on Sri Lanka in the second and final Test of the series in Galle. Having registered an impressive four-wicket win in the first game, Pakistan are aiming for a series sweep; however, the hosts have made a strong comeback in the second Test, putting Pakistan on backfoot with a 400+ run lead in the second innings. The Babar Azam-led side had made two changes in the XI that took on Sri Lanka in the first Test, of which one was forced, as Shaheen Afridi was ruled out with an injury.

Shahid Afridi (Getty)

The other, however, drew significant eyeballs as veteran batter Azhar Ali was dropped for Fawad Alam. Azhar had registered single-digit scores across both innings of the first Test and has been going through a largely indifferent patch with the bat. Fawad, meanwhile, had a forgettable outing in the side's previous Test series against Australia, registering scores of 0, 9, 13, and 11 in two Tests. His consistent performances in the previous year, coupled with strong domestic outings kept him in the Pakistan squad for the Sri Lanka series.

Since Fawad is making a comeback to the side in the second Test – which is also the only match remaining in the series – he won't be having enough opportunities to return to run-scoring. Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, however, insisted that there will always be pressure while playing in international cricket and made a rather snappy remark as he talked about Fawad Alam.

“If Fawad Alam doesn't want to take pressure, he can come to me and play in MSL (Shahid Afridi's T20 League) instead. It's only the player himself who can handle the pressure. Even those who have performed in the past have pressure because they carry the expectations,” Afridi said on Samaa TV.

Afridi then gave an example of India's star batter Virat Kohli to further explain his point.

“Even Virat Kohli, who is a top-class player, is out of form nowadays. When he was performing, people always had expectations. In both cases, he had the pressure, right? Fawad Alam has played in difficult situations, and in domestic cricket, he took on all kinds of oppositions on all kinds of pitches, and played long innings,” said Afridi.

“I think he knows how to handle the pressure. He just has to give his best shot.”