Mohsin Naqvi, Shaheen Afridi Plotting Babar Azam's Permanent Exit From Pakistan Team

PCB planning to permanently remove Babar from ODIs [Source: AFP]

In the aftermath of Pakistan’s horror show at the T20 World Cup 2026, PCB Chief, Mohsin Naqvi, held separate meetings with ODI and T20I skippers, Shaheen Afridi and Salman Ali Agha. The Men in Green were one of the favourites to reach the semis, but the World Cup turned out to be a nightmare for them.

The team played all its matches in Sri Lanka, and despite getting an advantage, they fumbled and crashed out of the Super 8 stage. As a result, the PCB is furious with the team, and according to Geo News, Naqvi scheduled a meeting with both white-ball captains to discuss the future of Pakistan cricket.

According to sources, Naqvi and Shaheen discussed the ODI roadmap for the future, while Salman Agha reportedly reviewed Pakistan’s performances in the T20 World Cup.

Pakistan plotting to remove Babar Azam from team?

The meeting took place on Wednesday (March 4), and on the same day, the Pakistan selectors revealed the ODI team for the Bangladesh tour. In a surprising decision, the selectors dropped Babar Azam from the ODI setup due to his poor performance in the T20 World Cup.

This was a shocker from the PCB as Babar had done nothing wrong in the ODIs, but because he failed in a different format, the batter faced PCB and Naqvi’s wrath. Normally, for a selection meeting, the captain also has his say, and Shaheen Afridi would have given his nod to exclude Babar from the Bangladesh tour.

Last year he was dropped from the T20Is before the Asia Cup, and now, getting removed from the ODIs indicate that the management doesn’t want him, and he could face a permanent exile from the 50-overs format.

Also Read: Babar Azam And…? Pakistan T20 World Cup Flops Who Face PCB's Wrath In Bangladesh ODIs

Babar will also not take part in the upcoming Pakistan domestic National T20 Cup. He was supposed to take part in the marquee event, but it seems the batter was not picked by the team.

Babar gone, but Shaheen retains his place

In a bizarre move, Babar was removed from the ODIs, but Shaheen Afridi, who performed equally badly, was retained as the skipper, as the player will lead the team against Bangladesh. Shaheen only performed in one match, against England at the World Cup, and just like Babar, was dropped from the playing XI.

However, while the management has shown no trust in Babar, and has sidelined him, Shaheen continued to get support as the captain met PCB Chairman to discuss the future of ODI cricket,

Naqvi furious with Pakistan's T20 World Cup performance

Reportedly, the PCB Chairman, Naqvi was furious with how Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign ended. The side played all its matches in Sri Lanka, and yet couldn’t take advantage of the conditions.

The team started with a narrow win over the Netherlands as the Men in Green barely scraped past them in the group stage. Victories over Namibia, and the USA helped them reach the Super 8 stage, but a heavy loss against India undermined their credentials.

In the Super 8, the match against New Zealand was abandoned, and the team lost against the Harry Brook-led England team. They needed to beat the Sri Lankan side by a huge margin to overhaul the Kiwi net run-rate to reach the semis, but the Men in Green failed to achieve that as well.

Also Read: IND vs ENG Head To Head Records- Semifinal, ICC T20 World Cup 2026