Former Pakistan cricket team skipper Shahid Afridi blasted the country’s selection committee and held them directly responsible for the ODI series loss against Bangladesh.
Pakistan were handed a humiliating series defeat by Bangladesh after the Salman Ali Agha-led side lost the third ODI encounter on Sunday. Afridi questioned the decision to hand the captaincy to his son-in-law Shaheen Afridi before claiming that there was little logic in removing star batter Babar Azam from the squad following the T20 World Cup campaign. Pakistan did not have a good outing at the World Cup as well as they failed to reach the semifinals of the competition. In a video posted on social media, Afridi launched a scathing attack at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selectors for the national team’s disastrous run of form.
“You saw the performances in the 2026 T20 World Cup, and after that we also lost the Bangladesh series 2-1. In my opinion, the selection committee deserves criticism. All of you in the committee have played so much cricket, yet you still don’t seem to have the idea of who should be the captain for which format,” Afridi said.
“You keep making too many decisions in the name of ‘surgery’. What you are doing is picking youngsters and players who have barely played a few first-class matches. Your domestic cricket is not even of the standard that it can consistently produce players ready to secure a place in the Pakistan team,” he added.
Afridi also complained about the lack of opportunities for senior players who have proven their mettle on the global stage and added that there seems to be no long-term planning when it comes to the team selections.
“The senior players who actually deserved their place – even if they didn’t have strong T20 performances – had very good records in ODIs. But in the name of ‘surgery’, you sidelined those experienced players despite their solid ODI performances.”
“Instead, you brought in youngsters who have only played a few domestic and first-class matches. The standard of domestic cricket is not high enough, and those players are not ready to come straight into the Pakistan team and cement their place. You keep handing out Pakistan caps again and again – this is not surgery. If anything, the real surgery should be done on the selection committee,” he said.