Shahid Afridi challenges Wasim Akram on live TV after he demands 6-7 players' ouster from Pakistan Champions Trophy team

Pakistan's disappointing exit from the Champions Trophy 2025 sparked emotional reactions from their fans and former cricketers. Wasim Akram, the legendary former captain and bowling great, launched a furious rant aimed at Mohammad Rizwan's men when the side suffered a one-sided defeat to arch-rivals India last Sunday, suggesting a complete overhaul of the side. However, this rant didn't sit well with another former skipper, Shahid Afridi. Shahid Afridi (R) responded to Wasim Akram's suggestion of dropping 6-7 players from Pakistan's CT 2025 squad(AP/Files)

Akram had stated that Pakistan need to let go of the underperforming stars, and bring in youngsters to prepare for the next year's T20 World Cup.

“Enough is enough. We are losing in white-ball with these players from some couple of years. The time is to take a bold step. What is the bold step? As Waqar Younis was saying, bring young players, fearless cricketers, bring them in white ball cricket. Even if you have to make 5-6 big changes, do that, lose for the next six months, support those players. Start making the 2026 T20 World Cup team from now,” Akram had said on Pakistan's TV show, Dressing Room.

While Afridi acknowledged that it's normal to “get carried away” after defeats such as the one against India, he criticised Akram's remark about dropping some of Pakistan's stars altogether.

“I was listening to Wasim bhai that day. Yes, we all got carried away by emotions (after loss to India). He said that 6-7 players need to be dropped from the side. Wasim bhai, I just have one question for you. Do you 6-7 players on the bench who can replace them? Do you have the players of those standards in domestic cricket? Have we groomed them in the academies?,” Afridi said on Samaa TV.

“We may drop the players, but who will we bring? Even if we do that, people will start crying about it again. They (PCB) will say that we are preparing for the World Cup. And once it sends, the surgery will begin again.”

Pakistan winless

Pakistan failed to win a single match in their home Champions Trophy campaign, with their final game of the group washing out against Bangladesh. This marked the first time when the hosts endured a winless run in the tournament since its rebrand in 2002.

Rizwan's men will return to action on March 16 when they take on New Zealand in an away T20I series.

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