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Cricket Players'Players were waiting for a chance. If you don't perform, someone will replace you': Afridi tells PAK star on TV debate
The former Pakistan captain had a rather blunt response during a television debate with a fellow Pakistan cricketer, who is currently out-of-favour with the PCB selection committee.
Over the past few years, Pakistan have seen a number of changes in its cricket team. Babar Azam succeeded Sarfaraz Ahmed and Azhar Ali in white-ball and Test captaincy respectively, and many other players came into the team as replacements for the old guard since 2019. One of the players who lost his place in the side was opener Ahmed Shehzad, who hasn't appeared for the national team in almost three years now.
Shehzad made headlines last month when he claimed that he was unceremoniously removed from the Pakistan squad and urged the board to make public the report over the same, curated by then-coach Waqar Younis. Ever since, Shehzad has made a number of public appearance on Pakistan news channels and earlier this week, he was also a part of television debate alongside former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, under whom the 30-year-old opener has also played.
While Shehzad had insisted that he wasn't given regular opportunities to perform during the final year before being dropped (2019), Afridi, who had retired by then, had insisted that there were players waiting for their turn on the bench.
"You know very well that in Pakistan, a player can come into the team on the basis of a single performance in a T20. There are many examples. Any player must play at least 3-4 seasons of domestic cricket before coming into the national team, especially batsmen.
“As far as Ahmed is concerned, opportunities come and it depends on you, how you avail them. Ahmed has got a lot of chances, he has performed in past, but there comes a time when there are batsmen sitting behind you, waiting for their chances. Then you should know that you have to be consistent, every series is important. If you don't perform, someone else will take your place. There were players waiting for their chance when Ahmed was playing,” Afridi said on Samaa TV.
“At that time, there were multiple openers who were waiting for their turn. They weren't given much of a chance, but Ahmed was given many opportunities. Having said that, Ahmed is a strong character and he has the ability to make a comeback,” the former Pakistan captain further said.
