Major Rift In Pakistan Team? Shaheen Afridi Has Heated Argument With Babar Azam After Asia Cup 2023 Exit: Report

There are reports emerging from Pakistan about an alleged rift in the men's national team after their exit from the Asia Cup 2023 earlier this week.

Pakistan were knocked out of the tournament by Sri Lanka on Thursday after a thrilling rain-reduced encounter which went right down to the wire in Colombo.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam was furious with his players after their ordinary performance on the field during Sri Lanka's 252-run chase at the R Premadasa Stadium.

Babar's strong words after Asia Cup exit

He reportedly gave an earful to his teammates in the dressing room after the match after they crashed out of the tournament despite being one of the favourites to lift the title.

"Khud ko zyada superstars na samjhein, World Cup sir pe hai. Agar hum ek hokar khelte toh match jeet sakte the (Don't think of yourselves as superstars, the World Cup is almost upon us. We could have won the match if we played as a team)," Babar reportedly told his teammates.

Afridi interrupts Babar in dressing room

All hell broke lose when pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi intervened Babar and allegedly had a heated argument with the skipper.

Afridi told Babar to "at least appreciate who bowled and batted well", which Babar did not like and responded by saying that he is aware of "who's performing well" and who all fulfilled their responsibilities in the Asia Cup.

Wicketkeeper Mohammed Rizwan then had to interrupt the argument and pacify the duo, according to Pakistani media reports.

Babar leaves in frustration

Babar then left the dressing room and attended the post-match press conference after which he boarded the team bus and left for the team hotel where he did not interact with anybody.

There is also a video of Babar avoiding meeting fans after the Pakistan team bus reached the hotel. Babar did have a stone-cold expression on his face in that video as he refused a fistbump from a Pakistan cricket fan.

Pakistan lost a close game against Sri Lanka by 2 wickets after the islanders managed to chase down 252 in a rain-reduced 42-over game thanks to brilliant batting performances from Kusal Mendis (91), Charith Asalanka (49*) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (48).