チャンピオンズトロフィーの早期休暇の後、ロガーヘッドのパキスタン人、Shahid AphridiはWasim Akramを沈黙させる

No two Pakistani cricketers — present or past — think alike. So when their team was ousted of the Champions Trophy in the first round itself, there has been a lot of noise from these experts, and all contrasting. While legendary Wasim Akram suggested that the PCB should make wholesale changes in the team setup, his then teammate has questioned such a move.

Pakistan Out of Champions Trophy 2025

Wasim Akram started by stating the need to move to newer players, for the sake of the 2026 T20 World Cup. “Enough is enough. We are losing in white-ball with these players from some couple of years. The time is to take a bold step. What is the bold step? As Waqar Younis was saying, bring young players, fearless cricketers and bring them in white ball cricket,” Akram said while speaking on Dressing Room. 

But Shahid Afridi has hit back at this remark. “I was listening to Wasim bhai that day. Yes, we all got carried away by emotions (after the loss to India). He said that 6-7 players need to be dropped from the side. Wasim bhai, I just have one question for you,” Afridi said while speaking on Samaa TV. 

Wasim Akram vs Shahid Afridi

“Do you have 6-7 players on the bench who can replace them? Do you have players of those standards in domestic cricket? Have we groomed them in the academies?” Afridi asked. This just brings to light, the dearth of talent, or talent grooming in the country, which produced some of the best cricketers in the 80s and the 90s.

Meanwhile, hosts Pakistan finished with just one point in the Champions Trophy — and lost their matches to India and New Zealand. Their encounter vs Bangladesh was washed out, as Mohammad Rizwan’s team finished with just one point.