After hearing “parchi” shouts against Khushdil, Afridi made the scathing comment, “Baalo me conditioner lagaake taiyaar hone se kuch nahi hoga.”
At the seventh T20I of the series against England in Lahore, Pakistan suffered a 67-run defeat, dropping the series to 3-4. Pakistan could only get to 142/7 in 20 overs after giving up a massive total of 209/3 due to their middle order’s inability to perform. The middle order was exposed and gave under pressure after their openers Babar Azam, and Mohammad Rizwan were removed in single-digit scores; except from Shan Masood (56), no other batter could excite as Pakistan suffered a series loss.
The poor performance of the Pakistani squad further enraged the stadium crowd, who began chanting “parchi, parchi” in reference to middle-order batter Khushdil Shah, implying that the batter was not chosen on the basis of his abilities but rather on the basis of recommendations. In the series, Khushdil only managed to score 63 runs, and in the decisive game, he was out after 27 off 25 deliveries.
Shahid Afridi, a former captain of Pakistan, elaborated on the crowd chants and stated that the players should be prepared for all types of criticism if they don’t perform.
“You see, there is no question that the audience will adore you if you consistently perform well. Every player has poor form sometimes, and criticism is a part of it. But eventually, you’ll have to bounce back. Everyone is counting on you to score fours and sixes in the lower order, so be prepared for criticism if you don’t deliver for five or six straight games while being a key member of the squad, Afridi said in an interview with Samaa TV.
In international cricket, you will encounter criticism. It would help if you translated it into effective performances. International cricket is a testing ground for players. Even if you are talented, you cannot overcome obstacles if you lack the necessary courage.
Afridi responded in an intriguing way when the host brought up how Pakistani cricketers don’t take criticism well.
