Shaheen Shah Afridi, the Pakistan ODI captain, made a humble ‘request’ to journalists, urging the media in the country to let the senior players be and not take their case every time they fail. The speedster made the remark after the Green Shirts defeated Australia in the third and final ODI to win the three-match series 2-1. Shaheen was adjudged as Player of the Match for his three-wicket haul. The series was also good for Babar Azam as the experienced batter hit a fifty in the opener, paving the way for a Pakistan win.
In the post-match press conference, Shaheen told reporters that seniors are important to every team, and the juniors' growth depends on the time they spend with senior members of the squad.
Shaheen said that every player tries to give their best, and one or two failures should not lead to the swords coming out.
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“I have a request for you all. You always speak about the seniors not performing. When they do, you ask, ‘Why have you performed?’ Unhe ek haal pe chddh de (Just let them be). Everyone is trying their best. No one is going to their home,” Shaheen told reporters in the post-match press conference.
“In the Rawalpindi ODI, Babar scored a fifty in difficult conditions. He also guided Ghazi Ghori. If you remove seniors from the side, how will you build up the juniors? When I made my debut, seniors were there, and I learned from them. Even the best player in the world will only do well in 3-4 games out of 10. No one can do well in all ten games, so just give everyone a chance,” he added.
‘Pitch talk’
{{/usCountry}}“In the Rawalpindi ODI, Babar scored a fifty in difficult conditions. He also guided Ghazi Ghori. If you remove seniors from the side, how will you build up the juniors? When I made my debut, seniors were there, and I learned from them. Even the best player in the world will only do well in 3-4 games out of 10. No one can do well in all ten games, so just give everyone a chance,” he added.
‘Pitch talk’
{{/usCountry}}The entire ODI series between Pakistan and Australia was dominated by the pitch chatter. The hosts were criticised for employing spin-friendly tracks despite knowing that the surfaces in South Africa for the World Cup would be completely different.
Shaheen defended the use of spinning tracks, saying every team plays to its strengths and gives itself the best chance of winning.
“When we went to Australia under Rizwan’s captaincy, we won the series there as well. We won on green and bouncy pitches. They thought that because we had come from Asia, giving us green wickets would trouble us,” said Shaheen.
“So if they have come to our country, we can't be expected to give them green wickets. We also have to win matches. Their strongest playing XI was playing too,” he added.