After the defeat in the T20 World Cup 2026 match against India, everything is not going well for the Pakistan team. While the former cricketers are busy criticizing the current team, the current cricketers are saying that why only us, even the former cricketers of Pakistan could never win the World Cup match against India. Now Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has also intervened in this matter. In fact, Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan had recently targeted former cricketers like Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Yousuf. After this, Shadab took a dig at both the former cricketers in the press conference after the match against Namibia, which created a stir in the cricket world. Now PCB has given a strict warning to Shadab on his recent statement. Besides, Shadab’s father-in-law and former veteran spinner Saqlain Mushtaq is also unhappy with Shadab’s statement.
PCB gave strict instructions
However, this statement of Shadab displeased many former players. It is being told that through team manager Navid Cheema, PCB gave a clear message to Shadab that he should respect his words and show respect towards the legendary players. Telecom Asia Sports quoted sources as saying that the PCB, through team manager Navid Cheema, gave a message to the all-rounder that he should not use harsh words against former great players. Cheema read the message from PCB, which read, ‘Shadab had gone out of his limits in the press conference. All the former players, including his father-in-law Saqlain Mushtaq, are respected great players of Pakistan. He should not use such words.
What did Afridi-Yusuf say?
After Pakistan’s defeat against India on February 15 in Colombo, former captain Shahid Afridi demanded the team management to drop senior players like Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Shadab Khan due to poor performance. On the other hand, Mohammad Yusuf also made a similar comment and said that the time of Babar, Shaheen and Shadab is over and the team management should try the bench strength and give a chance to the young players in the playing eleven.
Saqlain Mushtaq’s displeasure
Shadab’s father-in-law and former veteran spinner Saqlain Mushtaq also expressed dissatisfaction with this statement. He said, ‘These were unnecessary comments. Most of the players have played with me. The truth is that I am also one of those players who did not win the ICC trophy, but we won many big Test and ODI matches for Pakistan. His statement shows that senior players have objection to Shadab’s language. Shadab married Saqlain’s daughter Malaika Saqlain in 2023. Former Pakistan wicketkeeper batsman Kamran Akmal also termed Shadab’s comments as inappropriate. He said, ‘Using such words against former players demands caution.’
Media management and future strategy
The report also said that the team management is advising players to exercise restraint while talking to the media. No player was sent in front of the media for two days before the important match against India. Now Pakistan has to face a tough challenge in the Super-Eight stage. The team’s next match will be against New Zealand in Colombo. After this she will face England and Sri Lanka team.