PCB holds emergency meet with Shaheen after pacer was unhappy with ‘Fake’ statement

The crises in Pakistan cricket surrounding the captaincy have deepened with outgoing captain and star pacer Shaheen Afridi angry over Fake statement issued by PCB on his behalf.

According to ESPNCricinfo report, Shaheen Afridi is unhappy with the PCB’s act and was out to issue his own original statement, but the PCB has held emergency talks with him.

The report further said that another emergency meeting of Shaheen with PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi will take place on Monday.

The report said that Shaheen was not asked by the PCB to provide a statement to use in a press release. However, a few hours after Babar Azam was reappointed captain, a press release was put out in which words from Shaheen pledged complete support to Babar Azam as captain and stated it was “an honour” to lead Pakistan.

“I will always cherish the memories and the opportunity,” the statement, attributed to Afridi, said. “As a team player, it is my duty to back our captain, Babar Azam. I have played under his captaincy and have nothing but respect for him. I will try to help him on and off the field. We are all one. Our aim is the same, to help Pakistan become the best team in the world,” PCB statement had quoted Shaheen.

ESPNCricinfo report said that Afridi is understood to have contributed nothing to that statement at all, and this latest flare-up is set to further ignite tensions in a Pakistan camp where unity has been severely tested by the PCB’s repeated flip-flopping concerning the national captaincy. The writing was on the wall for Afridi since Naqvi refused to back him at a press conference in Lahore on Sunday, saying at the time a decision would be made after Pakistan’s training camp with the military ended. But it appears the decision to sack him was then already on the verge of being finalised.

It is understood Shaheen does not feel it has been fully clarified to him why he was replaced in the first place, and is frustrated by the lack of communication from the PCB. And the PCB’s attempt to quell any lingering resentment by putting out a statement where both Babar and Shaheen exchanged warm words has only resulted in fanning the flames.

The manner in which the captaincy has been handed back from Shaheen to Babar is inevitably likely to strain relations between arguably the two biggest stars in Pakistan cricket.

The situation surrounding Pakistan cricket captaincy is likley to take further turns as the days pass.