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Pakistan Asked To Drop Shaheen, Naseem And Haris Rauf; Told To Bring In Youngsters For ICC Events

Abhinav Tyagi

Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf - (Source:@AsliCricketFan/X.com)Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf - (Source:@AsliCricketFan/X.com)

On Sunday, India locked horns against Pakistan in the fifth match of ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The Men in Blue extended their winning run over their neighbours as they beat Pakistan by six-wickets to go on top of their group and put a foot in the semi-finals. 

On the other hand, Pakistan are almost out of the tournament and are on the brink of another early exit in an ICC event. Following the defeat, the fans and cricket pundits in Pakistan have come down heavily on the players and are leaving no stones unturned in bashing the Mohammad Rizwan-led for their mediocre performance. 

Hafeez Ask PCB To Drop Pace Trio

The latest to join the bandwagon is former star player and ex- interim head coach Mohammad Hafeez. The Pakistan star was furious with the players for their lack of intent and slammed the bowling unit for looking pale against Indian batters. 

Hafeez also called for ouster of Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi, and Naseem Shah from the team to bring in the likes of Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Wasim Jr. He explained that the experienced trio have played together in several ICC events, but failed to emerge as match-winners and have not created any impact. 

“2023 mein Asia Cup shuru hua, hamari expectation thi ki ye trio—Shaheen, Naseem aur Haris—ye ready hai ki hume bade events jitwa ke de, failure. 2023 50-over World Cup, failure. 2022 T20 tournament in Melbourne, failure. Ye wala ICC Champions Trophy, failure," Hafeez said during post-match show.

“It is time to realise that these guys, according to many people they have skills, lekin vo skills bada tournament jitwane k kabil nahi hume najar aa rahe hai, vo sabit nahi kar rahe hai. Let’s move on from them. Let’s bring other people. Let’s go with Mohammad Ali, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Akif Javed, Mir Hamza. These guys are waiting for their chances. Inko khila k dekh lete hai. They are also Pakistani; they also have a Pakistani passport," he added. 

Pakistan now have to rely on other teams to see them go through to the next round. They will next face Bangladesh in their final Champions Trophy match on February 27.