Former captain, Shahid Afridi, has clarified why Babar Azam was absent from a dinner he hosted for the national team at his home during the ODI series against New Zealand.

Speaking to the media, Shahid Afridi said that his son-in-law, Shaheen Afridi, informed him that some of the national players wanted to meet the former all-rounder at his home.

Former captain stated that he accepted the request, “Whoever wants to come, can come. Whoever wanted to come, came [for dinner].”

It is worth mentioning that Shahid Afridi hosted some national players for a dinner at his home in Karachi before the fourth and fifth ODI against New Zealand.

The former all-rounder shared some photos on his Twitter account and wrote, “Hosted Pakistan’s heroes for dinner, super proud of each one of you. Good luck for tomorrow.”

However, the absence of the all-format captain did not go unnoticed, and cricket fans took to social media to speculate about the real reasons behind his absence.

Some renowned cricketers in the national squad, who attended the dinner party, included Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman, and others.

Last month, Najam Sethi stated that the Afridi-led Selection Committee had initially expressed interest in making changes to the team, including changing the captain, Babar Azam.

However, days later, the former Chief Selector clarified the statement and said that he had not suggested replacing Babar Azam as the captain of Pakistan.

Source: Pro Pakistani