Shahid Afridi clears the air after Najam Sethi's comment about Babar's captaincy

'All the best to Babar and his side for the series vs NZ,' writes Afridi in Twitter

KARACHI (Web Desk) – Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has issued clarification regarding comments made by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi about captaincy of Babar Azam.

The clarification comes after Mr Sethi on Sunday revealed that the interim selection committee, led by Shahid Afridi, had proposed replacing Babar as Pakistan captain.

However, the legendary cricketer took to Twitter to clarify that he had not laid forth such proposal.

“I spoke with Mr Najam Sethi who was kind enough to confirm he was not referring to me while commenting about Babar Azam’s captaincy. He has further clarified this in his social media posts. This has put the matter to bed. All the best to Babar and his side for the series vs NZ,” Afridi wrote.

 

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) April 10, 2023

On Monday, the PCB chief issued a statement, backing Babar Azam as team captain.

Taking to Twitter, Mr Sethi said, “For months media and cricketing circles have been discussing pros and cons of retaining Babar Azam as captain in all formats of the game. Since this decision is ultimately Chairman’s, I have sought views of Selection Committees headed by Shahid Afridi and now Haroon Rashid”.

“Both Committees thought matter merited discussion but both later came to the conclusion that the status quo should be retained. I have subsequently publicly stated this position. In the final analysis my decision will be subject to the success or failure of status quo,” he maintained.

Urging the people to not make matter controversial in line with the captaincy of Babar Azam, Mr Sethi said, “I will also be guided by what the Selectors and Director Cricket Ops and Head Coach have to say going forward. I expect they will be in the best position to advise me. Therefore we should support Babar and not make matter controversial in interests of national team”.