Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi opened up about his conversation with national team captain Babar Azam and other cricketers at his home on Thursday.
Afridi, 46, invited the players of the national team to his house as many of them, including Azam, had just returned from the Hajj pilgrimage earlier this week.
A short video clip, that went viral a few days ago, in which Afridi was seen playing a snooker game with Azam. After defeating the Pakistani skipper, Boom Boom stated that he did uplift Babar’s spirit.
"I beat him [Azam] in the pool match but I didn’t let him get demotivated. I motivated him, so that is why he looked confident in the press conference today,” Afridi told a local news channel a day earlier.
Boom Boom also talked about his conversation with Imam ul Haq and the former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed — who is now the number one choice for Babar in Sri Lanka — during the gathering.
"I had a chat with Imam ul Haq and Sarfaraz [Ahmed] that they have to play cricket without any gaps for the next eight months, so there is no doubt that there should be a backup plan in place for them and players will need adequate rest as well during that time.
“It is the responsibility of the selection committee and the coaching staff regarding how they go about these next eight months of cricket,” he concluded.
The first Test of the series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be played at the Galle International Cricket Stadium on July 16 and the two teams will then travel to Colombo for the second Test at the Singhalese Sports Club from July 24 to 28.
Itinerary of Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka:
9 July – Pakistan land in Colombo
11 and 12 July – Warm-up game
16-20 July – First Test at Galle International Cricket Stadium
24-28 July – Second Test at Singhalese Sports Club, Colombo
Pakistan squad
Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi and Shan Masood
- Babar Azam