Shahid Afridi gives brutal reminder to Shadab Khan: You performed only vs Namibia
India Today
T20 World Cup: Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi delivered a pointed response to Shadab Khan after the all-rounder defended his generation's 2021 World Cup win over India, questioning their ability to handle success.
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi delivered a pointed response to all-rounder Shadab Khan after the latter hit back at ex-cricketers for their criticism, reminding them his generation defeated India at an ICC event in 2021.
Afridi acknowledged Pakistan's 2021 T20 World Cup victory over India but suggested the current team failed to handle the success that followed. The exchange highlights growing tensions between Pakistan's current players and former stars amid the team's inconsistent performances at the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026.
Shadab had earlier defended his generation against criticism from former players. "Our former cricketers have their own opinions, and they've done great things for Pakistan. But at the end of the day, even in the World Cup, we as a team have achieved results, like defeating India in 2021. So criticism is part of cricket's history," Shadab said during a press conference.
Afridi conceded the point but questioned what came after. "Shadab is absolutely right—we did not win, they won against India in a World Cup. They got respect, but they could not handle that respect. By that I mean that after 2021, whatever problems they had among themselves, they could not handle them individually, they could not handle the team," Afridi said.
The former captain reminded Shadab that ex-cricketers backed him during his lean patches. "Shadab should also know that when he was not performing well, when he was being dropped from the team, we were the ones sitting on TV channels saying that Shadab is the backbone, Shadab's overs are very important, he can also bat. It was us who talked about Shadab," Afridi said.
Shahid Afridi on Shadab’s controversial remarks:Shadab is right they earned respect after beating India, but failed to sustain it.In simple terms,Afridi said: some people don’t know how to handle honour.Ye aapas me hi lad marenge... pic.twitter.com/GygX6mic5V— Ankit Malik (@ankitmalik22) February 20, 2026
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