What caused the rift between Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi in the Pakistan cricket team?

The rift between Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi reportedly developed over the captaincy issues, which former player Basit Ali claims has significantly contributed to the downfall of Pakistan cricket.

Why did Babar Azam step down as captain after the 2023 ODI World Cup?

Babar Azam stepped down due to the team's poor performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup, leading to a series of changes in leadership roles within the squad.

How is the leadership structure of the Pakistan cricket team currently organized?

Currently, Babar Azam is leading Pakistan in Tests, Shaheen Afridi is the captain for ODIs, and Salman Ali Agha has taken over the T20I captaincy, reflecting a fragmented leadership approach.

‘Rift between Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi’: Ex-Pakistan batter drops bombshell behind ‘ruining of cricket’

Babar Azam had an outing to forget at Lord's, returning with two single digit scores.

Updated on: Sep 1, 2026, 07:47:32 IST

Written by Vishesh Roy

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Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali claimed that a rift developed between Shaheen Shah Afridi and Babar Azam over the captaincy, and that the scandal is the main reason for the national team's downfall. His comments came in the aftermath of the Lord's Test, where Pakistan lost by 194 runs. The Babar-led team is facing heat from all corners for showing no fight and going down in the opening two Tests of the three-match series.

Babar Azam had an outing to forget at Lord's (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)

Chaos reigns supreme in Pakistan cricket, and the PCB has replaced multiple captains and coaches. Babar stepped down as skipper after the 2023 ODI World Cup debacle, and Shaheen was made captain. However, a poor show in New Zealand led to Babar reclaiming the job from the pacer.

Babar was sidelined again after Pakistan failed to reach the T20 World Cup semi-finals in 2024. Multiple changes have been made to the leadership since then, and now, there are three different skippers for different formats. Babar leads in Tests, Shaheen in ODIs and Salman Ali Agha in T20Is.

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However, Basit Ali believes that one needs to identify the person who played the main role in dividing the two senior-most players of the national team.

“Babar Azam is not a strong captain. I am not speaking about this based on the performance in England. He has made many wrong decisions. The main reason for Pakistan cricket's downfall is the rift between Shaheen and Babar. When there was a falling-out between the two over the captaincy, Pakistan cricket was ruined that day,” Ali said on the ‘Game Plan’ show.

“Many statements were made, saying Shaheen is a very good bowler and Babar is a very good bowler. The rift, whoever created that, the side effects can be seen now,” he added.

PCB takes action

On Monday, the PCB took stock of the situation, deciding to send back seven players home, including Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha. Test coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling head Umar Gul were also not spared.

White-ball coach Mike Hesson will now take charge of the third and final Test against England in Birmingham. While Babar continues to lead Pakistan in Tests, Shaheen is nowhere to be seen as he finds himself out of favour when it comes to red-ball cricket.

Babar was appointed as the Test captain earlier this year, taking over from Shan Masood. Under his captaincy, Pakistan drew the two-match series against the West Indies. However, the right-hander has gone four years without scoring a century in Tests.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vishesh Roy
Vishesh Roy is a sports journalist with a strong focus on cricket. He began his career at Asian News International (ANI), where he covered a range of high-profile events, including the India Open, Legends Cricket League, the England–India Test series in Ahmedabad in 2021, and the inauguration of the Narendra Modi Stadium. During his tenure at ANI, he also reported extensively on domestic cricket, covering several Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy matches across the country. While cricket remains his primary beat, Vishesh has also reported on tennis, football and WWE. After a stint of over three years at ANI, Vishesh moved to NDTV, where he gained hands-on experience in digital-first journalism, with a particular emphasis on live blogs and real-time news reporting. He joined Hindustan Times in October 2024 and quickly established himself with a series of exclusive interviews and source-driven stories. Ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, Hindustan Times was the first to report that the two-day event would be held in Saudi Arabia. In the early months of his tenure, Vishesh secured interviews with leading cricketers, including Pat Cummins, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rashid Latif. He has also closely tracked the rise of emerging talents such as Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Priyansh Arya by speaking to their current and childhood coaches. His background in on-field reporting has helped Hindustan Times Digital break exclusive stories on major developments, including Virat Kohli’s return to the Ranji and Vijay Hazare Trophy, IPL scheduling, and the T20 World Cup controversy involving Bangladesh and Pakistan.Read More

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