Shaheen Afridi not talking to Babar Azam and looking isolated, claims Pakistan sports journalist

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Shaheen Afridi looked alone and isolated on his Pakistan captaincy debut and did not even talk once to Babar Azam, senior Pakistan journalist Ejaz Bakhri has claimed. Shaheen Afridi-led Pakistan lost the first T20I against New Zealand by 46 runs in Auckland on Friday.

The journalist claimed that the Pakistan cricket team looked utterly divided and Shaheen Afridi was left all alone in the middle. Bakhri stated that Shaheen Afridi did not ask for any suggestion from the seniors and looked under pressure throughout the match.

He went on to add that Shaheen deployed Babar in the deep to avoid any sort of communication from the former Pakistan captain who top-scored for Pakistan in the match with 57 off 35 balls.

"Shaheen was alone. He was not talking to anyone, he was not discussing and taking suggestions from anyone, his bowlers were getting hammered. He has pushed Babar Azam to deep mid-on, he is your ex-captain and captain in the last T20I event. At least talk to him, coordinate with him. Shaheen Afridi looked nervous," the journalist said.

Batting first, New Zealand posted a 227-run target for New Zealand. Shaheen Afridi picked three wickets but leaked as many as 46 runs in the match. Debutant Abbas Afridi also picked three wickets for 34 runs. Haris Rauf also chipped in with figures of 2/34. Aamer Jamal and Usama gave away 55 and 51 runs respectively without taking any wicket.

Further, Ejaz Bakhri blamed PCB chairman for the discord in the team.

"I don’t know what Zaka Ashraf has done to this team. He has changed the captain, coaches and players but the team is still not winning," he said.