Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi delivered a stinging rebuttal to Shadab Khan’s criticism of past players, after the all-rounder highlighted their failure to defeat India in World Cups.
One of the greatest players ever to represent Pakistan, Shahid Afridi, was not pleased with the criticism he and some of his contemporaries received from Shadab Khan. After Pakistan’s defeat against India in the T20 World Cup 2026, Shadab became one of the targets for former players, who questioned the all-rounder’s place in the side. Shadab, in response, hit back, saying that at least he had been part of the Pakistan team that defeated India once in ICC events, something the previous generation had failed to achieve. Afridi, however, was unimpressed to see Shadab responding with words rather than with the bat and ball.
Speaking on a Pakistani news channel, Afridi said that the Pakistan team, which defeated India in the 2021 T20 World Cup could not handle the success they achieved.
“Shadab ne bilkul theek kaha. Hum nahi jeete, wo jeete. Unhe izzat mili par wo izzat sambhaal nahi paaye. 2021 ke baad unhone jab kar diya, tab unke aapas ke problems sambhaal nahi paaye, as an individual nahi sambhaal paaye, as a team nahi sambhaal paaye. (Shadab said absolutely right. We didn’t win, they won. They got respect, but they couldn’t handle that respect. After 2021, when they achieved something, they couldn’t manage their internal problems-neither individually, nor as a team),” he said on Samaa TV.
Afridi also pointed out that he had supported Shadab when the all-rounder’s place in the team was under scrutiny, but Shadab seems to have forgotten that now.
“Shadab ko ye bhi pata hona chahiye ki jab usse performances nahi ho rahi thi, tab team se bahar kiya jaa raha tha, hum hi TV channels pe baith kar bolte they ki Shadab backbone hai, Shadab ke overs bohot important hain, batting bhi kar leta hai. Honestly bataun, Shadab is a very good boy. Bohot acche se sabse milta hai. (Shadab should also know that when he wasn’t performing, he was being dropped from the team. At that time, we were the ones sitting on TV channels saying that Shadab is the backbone, his overs are very important, and he can also bat. Honestly speaking, Shadab is a very good boy. He meets everyone very nicely),” Afridi remarked.
Answer Through Performances: Afridi to Shadab
Pakistan managed to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8s despite some questionable performances. Afridi reminded Shadab that his only notable contribution came against Namibia, while sterner challenges lie ahead.
“Hum bhi jab cricket khelte they, hamare baare mein bhi bohot baatein ki hain ex-cricketers ne. Lanat hai tak bola gaya tha. Hamne unko bardasht kiya aur performances ki, choti team ke khilaaf nahi, badi team ke khilaaf. Hum performance se jawaab dete they. (Even when we used to play cricket, ex-cricketers said a lot of things about us too. They even said ‘Lanat hai’ (curse). We tolerated it and responded with performances, not against small teams, but against big teams. We answered through performance),” the former Pakistan captain continued.
