Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi Involved in Heated Exchange After Pakistan's Asia Cup Exit: Reports

Pakistan was regarded as one of the favourites to win the Asia Cup 2023 title and was the top-ranked ODI squad a few weeks ago.

It appears, nevertheless, that problems have arisen in paradise as a result of their Asia Cup exit. With just one victory, Babar Azam's team placed last on the Super 4 points table.

Reports from Pakistani media indicate that following the team's Asia Cup 2023 departure due to defeat to Sri Lanka, Babar and Shaheen Shah Afridi got into a furious altercation in the dressing room.

After the team's Asia Cup elimination, Babar and Shaheen got into a fight, according to Pakistani media source Bolnews, and Mohammad Rizwan had to mediate a settlement between them.

According to the report, Babar was not happy at all with how the senior players performed. The 28-year-old told the Pakistani team's seniors how much he didn't like it and he expected them to do better.

When Shaheen Shah Afridi allegedly informed Babar that he should at least give credit to the players who had batted and bowled well, the situation allegedly got out of control. According to the site, Babar was not amused when Shaheen interrupted him. In response, the captain said he knew exactly who was playing and who needed to step up.

When Rizwan and head coach Grant Bradburn realised things were getting out of control, they took action. After leaving to attend the press conference, Babar didn't speak with any of the players before heading straight to the team bus to the hotel.

A cricket committee led by PCB chief Zaka Ashraf will assess the Pakistani team's results in the Asia Cup 2023 and decide whether players should be included or removed from the roster in advance of the ICC ODI World Cup in India in 2023.

After defeating Nepal to start the Asia Cup on a high note, Pakistan caused the Indian squad a great deal of headaches in their group-stage match, which was eventually eliminated.

Their greatest loss to the Men in Blue in ODI cricket came against India, who defeated them by 288 runs despite them being first in the group and defeating Bangladesh. That was followed by another close defeat against Sri Lanka, which meant Babar's team was out.

Babar has a lot of problems to deal with as the ODI World Cup is less than a month away. Naseem Shah, for example, is probably going to miss the tournament due to a shoulder injury, and Haris Rauf is also not totally healthy.