Pakistan ready to exclude senior players Babar Azam A reliable source in the team management told PTI on Monday that they will not field Shaheen Shah Afridi in the upcoming T20 World Cup against Namibia after their poor performance in the high-pressure clash against India in Colombo.According to sources, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi expressed his dissatisfaction with team manager Navid Akram Cheema over the team’s performance in their 61-run defeat to India.
“The chairman left the match early at the Premadasa Stadium as it was clear that Pakistan was going to lose to India again,” sources said.He added that Naqvi told the head coach through a senior PCB official that such performance in a crucial match was neither understandable nor acceptable.Sources further revealed that head coach Mike Hutson addressed the team in the locker room, reminding them that they were not living up to their true capabilities.“Late in the night, the management think tank decided that enough was enough and dropped Babar and Shaheen on the bench and tried Salman Mirza/Naseem Shah and Fakhar Zaman against Namibia on Wednesday,” he said.If the proposed changes yield positive results, it could effectively end the World Cup campaigns of Babar and Shaheen, with the management also keen on testing youngster Khawaja Nafaei in the middle order.Pakistan cannot afford to make any mistakes against Namibia if they hope to advance to the Super Eight stage. The team had previously beaten the lower-ranked United States and the Netherlands before suffering a crushing defeat to India.
