'Our team is now rest in peace': Ex-Pakistan captain after PCB rests Babar and Rizwan for Afghanistan T20Is

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Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif launched a scathing attack on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after it decided to drop seniors including captain Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Ahah Afridi for the upcoming 3-Test series against Afghanistan in Sharjah.

The PCB on Monday named Shadab Khan the captain for the Afghanistan tour while naming a 15-member squad including four uncapped players. The likes of Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf and Imad Wasim have been recalled.

Latif took shot at Najam Sethi - PCB's 74-year-old chairman, saying that people who have "never took rest" have taken the first step towards destroying Pakistan cricket.

"Our players are featuring in ICC rankings and winning awards after a long time. Babar and Shaheen won ICC awards. They [PCB] couldn't digest it. They said we won't let it happen and now we are here and will take decisions. Those who never took rest and are 70 or 80-year-old and need to rest, are now deciding the fate of Pakistan cricket. You can say rest in peace Pakistan team. Our team is now rest in peace," Latif said, as per Cricket Pakistan.

"When you bring new players, you break a team combination. Some new players, who are selected, will perform in the Afghanistan series, so will they bring back the senior players back with lesser strike rate. Media will also put pressure on them. This is the first step towards destroying Pakistan team," he further said, explaining his point.

PCB explains decision to rest Babar, Rizwan and other seniors

"Babar, Fakhar, Haris, Rizwan and Shaheen have been provided breaks from the short Sharjah trip to allow them to switch-off from competitive cricket so that they can complete their rehabilitations, regroup, recompose and recharge their batteries and be fully fit for the challenges in the tough and challenging 2023-24 season," 69-year-old chairman of the selection committee, Haroon Rashid said.

Sethi backed board's decison to appoint Shadab as the T20I captain, saying, "I want to congratulate Shadab Khan on his appointment as the Pakistan team captain for the series against Afghanistan. Shadab Khan has been the Pakistan vice-captain in white-ball cricket for the past couple of years and it is logical that he takes over the side in the absence of Babar Azam for the short three-match T20I tour of Sharjah.

"For the short Sharjah tour and to ensure continuity, we have also appointed Mohammad Yousuf as the interim head and batting coach. Yousuf has been with the national side since last year as a batting coach and has also been working in the National High Performance Centre."

The Pakistan vs Afghanistan series kicks of from March 25.

Pakistan Squad: Shadab Khan (C), Abdullah Shafique, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir, Zaman Khan.