“Shaheen Afridi shuts down ‘breakup rumors’ with Babar Azam with ‘family’ photo”. Viral post

The Pakistan cricket team led by Babar Azam, one of the pre-Asia Cup favourites, could not live up to their reputation and was eliminated from the Super 4 stage. Pakistan team was also penalized by injuries to Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah. Although they fought till the end, Pakistan could not cross the line in a must-win match against co-hosts Sri Lanka and were shown the door.

To make matters worse, according to a Pakistani media report Bol News, Pakistan captain Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi were engaged in a war of words after the defeat to Sri Lanka. According to the report, after the defeat, Babar questioned the role of senior players in the 2023 Asia Cup campaign. However, Shaheen interrupted him and said that he should not generalize and criticize those who did well. Babar then replied that he knows very well who is doing well and who is not. The report added that Babar went to the press conference after the defeat and while going to the hotel, he did not speak to anyone.

However, Shaheen put the rumors to rest with a recent post. On Tuesday, Shaheen posted a photo with Babar, along with the caption: “Family.”

family pic.twitter.com/VjKAFOTIE5

– Shaheen Shah Afridi (@iShaheenAfridi) September 19, 2023

Kusal Mendis’ 91 and Charith Asalanka’s unbeaten 49 helped Sri Lanka edge out Pakistan by two wickets in a last-ball Asia Cup thriller to set up a final clash with India. Chasing a revised DLS target of 252 in the 42-over competition in Colombo, Sri Lanka needed eight in the final and achieved the target with Asalanka’s match-winning knock off the last ball. A raucous crowd rejoiced, but the result broke the hearts of millions of fans who had been waiting for an India-Pakistan final in the 50-over tournament, a prelude to the upcoming ODI World Cup.

The defeat also hurt the Pakistani team players, especially their skipper Babar Azam. The team captain’s father Azam Siddique revealed that Babar was not even able to speak after Pakistan’s exit from the 2023 Asia Cup.

“Salam Pakistan. Pakistan played the whole match with half the players and lost on the last ball with a four from a herd. But in this match, I was shown a total superstar bowler, Zaman Khan, who played very well even at high pressure. Win or lose the match. It’s part of the team, but the team played the entire competition even though it was in half time,” Siddiqui wrote in an Instagram post in Urdu.