‘Will tell Babar to say something’ – Shahid Afridi hits back at Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir and Shahid Afridi

Former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi isn’t impressed with Gautam Gambhir after the latter called Babar Azam ‘selfish’. While doing commentary in the contest between Pakistan and the Netherlands, the former Indian cricketer was vocal about his opinion on the Pakistani skipper.

In that match, Gambhir felt that Fakhar Zaman, who was returning from an injury, should have been promoted to open the innings. The target was just 92 and the left-handed batter would have got enough time to settle and regain his confidence. However, Babar didn’t sacrifice his position as he opened the innings and departed for just 4.

Gambhir advised Babar to make decisions for the team and not for himself. He even used the word ‘selfish’ on air. “In my opinion, first, you think about your team instead of yourself; if nothing goes according to your plan, you should have sent Fakhar Zaman up the batting order. This is called selfishness; as a captain, it is easy to be selfish,” Gambhir said.

The statement obviously didn’t settle well with many cricket pundits and fans. Shahid Afridi, who has a long clashing history with Gambhir, hit back at him yet again. He said that he will try to tell Babar to say something about the Gambhir after the tournament.

“Tournament k baad koshish karenge Babar ko bole ki unke baare mein bhi kuch bole kyuki wo bhi toh ghar jayenge na. [During the tournament, we’ll try and tell Babar to say something about him. After all, he (Gambhir) will head straight back home to India too],” Afridi said on Samaa TV.

Shahid Afridi asks Gautam Gambhir to be careful with words

The 42-year-old believes that criticism is part of the sport but it should be done in a constructive manner, which helps in the betterment of an individual. He also praised Babar Azam for scoring consistently and dropping so many match-winning performances. However, he understands that the right-handed batter has failed to live up to the expectations at the showpiece event.

“There is always criticism, but you need to be very careful with words. You should use words that should come as advice for the player, and you can make the people understand it as well. As far as Babar is concerned, he has given so many match-winning performances. The consistency with which he has scored, very few Pakistan batters have. He may not have risen to the expectations, which is why he is facing some flak,” he added.

Babar has managed to accumulate only 8 runs in three matches. His side’s chances of qualifying for the semis are negligible. They will next lock horns against South Africa on Thursday (November 3) before heading into their last group stage match against Bangladesh on Sunday (November 6).