Pakistan's cricketing system is a very unique one and the people associated with it, be it in the past or the present always find a way to stay in the news and in the headlines. The same applies to former Pakistan chief selector and skipper Shahid Afridi. The legendary all-rounder has always spoken his mind and interestingly he doesn't mince words, but this time around he might have taken things too far by taking a dig at Babar Azam, Pakistan's skipper for all formats.
The former Pakistan skipper feels that Babar hasn't done anything extraordinary till now and he is yet to establish himself as a genuine match-winner. Afridi agrees with the fact that Babar Azam is one of the best players in the world, but as far as his finishing abilities go, Shahid Afridi doesn't seem to be pretty impressed. Babar Azam has been scoring consistently across formats for the past few years, but when it comes to the shortest format of the game, the T20 format, he struggles to up the ante and score accordingly.
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Shahid Afridi while speaking to a local news channel said:
Don't take it otherwise, Babar is the number one player in the world and I do not have any doubts about it. He is the skipper of our side and he is the pride of the Pakistan cricket team. Having said that, there is something that he needs to cultivate if he wants his name to be taken with the likes of AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli. Babar has to finish games for Pakistan. He is yet to do that and prove himself as a match-winner.
The Pakistan skipper was awarded two major ICC awards in 2022. Azam won the e ICC Men's ODI Player of the Year Award and the ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year Award. He was also appointed as the captain of the ICC ODI Team of the Year