Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi on Monday launched a scathing attack on the country’s selection committee, holding them directly responsible for the humiliating 2–1 ODI series defeat to Bangladesh on Sunday in Dhaka. Afridi not only questioned the Pakistan Cricket Board‘s decision to hand the ODI captaincy to his son-in-law Shaheen Afridi but also said he found little logic in the removal of Babar Azam from the squad following his underwhelming show in the T20 World Cup.
Pakistan’s struggles in international cricket continued as the team, after failing to reach the semifinals of the T20 World Cup earlier this month, went on to lose the ODI series against Bangladesh.
Speaking in a video posted on his social media account, Afridi blamed the selectors and their questionable decisions for Pakistan’s disastrous run in 2026, including the call to appoint Shaheen as ODI captain.
“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.
The 49-year-old also criticised Pakistan’s approach of looking to domestic cricket for immediate international solutions, arguing that many of the players selected lack sufficient experience.
“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 further questioned the decision to sideline senior players such as Babar based on their T20 performances despite their strong records in the 50-over format.
“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,” he said.
The former all-rounder concluded by criticising the selectors for what he described as a lack of long-term planning.
“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.
