Officials within the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are not pleased with how all-rounder Shadab Khan publicly attacked former Pakistan players after the team’s T20 World Cup Group A match against Namibia in Colombo. When asked about his take on the growing criticism of his performance by former players such as Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Yousuf, Shadab didn’t mince his words, reminding the greats that their team was never able to defeat India in World Cups, a feat he achieved in the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup, where Babar Azam-led side beat Virat Kohli’s India by ten wickets in Dubai.
Shadab’s comment did not go down well with the likes of Mohammad Amir, Ahmed Shehzad, Basit Ali and Shoaib Malik, and now it seems that even the PCB has taken cognisance of the matter, warning Shadab against using such harsh language and tone.
According to a report in Telecom Asia Sport, the PCB issued a stern warning to Shadab through team management Naveed Cheema, and the all-rounder has been categorically asked to refrain from using such language in the future.
“Naveed Cheema has been called to convey to Shadab that he was out of his limits in the press conference on Wednesday night,” Telecom Asia Sport quoted a source as saying.
“Shadab should know that all former players, including his father-in-law, Saqlain Mushtaq, are respectable and are greats of Pakistan. Shadab should respect them and should not use such language,” the source added.
Seeing what transpired with Shadab, the other Pakistan players have now been asked to limit their comments just to the T20 World Cup and the matches. They have also been told that action can be taken if they go out of line.
Saqlain Mushtaq also not happy
Shadab’s father-in-law, Saqlain Mushtaq, the former Pakistan spinner, also showed his displeasure with Shadab’s comments, calling them “unwanted.”
“Those were unwanted comments, and most of the players had played with me. In fact, I am also one of them who had not won an ICC event, but we had won several big matches for Pakistan, Tests and ODIs,” Saqlain told Telecom Asia Sport.
Speaking of Pakistan management, the officials have been cautious when sending players for pre- and post-match comments. When mystery spinner Usman Tariq came for the pre-match press conference ahead of the Namibia game, the media manager stopped him from answering a question on why he was used late in the match against India when he came into the attack in the 11th over.
“Tariq will not answer this as head coach Mike Hesson has answered this question after the India game,” said the media manager, Naeem Gillani.
After beating Namibia, Pakistan became the last team to qualify for the Super 8s. The side will now take on New Zealand in the first Super 8s game on Saturday. The Salman Ali Agha-led side will also face England and Sri Lanka.
