Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has advised Shadab Khan to let his performances do the talking, while also delivering a pointed message about the 2021 T20 World Cup generation's failure to live up to their historic victory over India.

 

Afridi was responding to Shadab's recent jibe at ex-cricketers, in which the all-rounder said "they didn't do what we've done." 

 

Speaking on a local news channel, Afridi agreed with Shadab's sentiment but argued that the praise that followed the 2021 win became too much to handle  for the players. 

 

"Shadab is absolutely right. We didn't win against India, they won. They got respect, but they couldn't handle the respect," Afridi said.

 

He elaborated on what he meant. "The meaning of not being able to handle the respect is that after 2021, they couldn't handle the problems between them, couldn't handle them individually, couldn't handle them as a team," he added.

 

Afridi also reminded Shadab that former cricketers, including himself, stood by him publicly during his poor run of form and his periods out of the side.

 

"When he wasn't able to perform well, when he was being excluded from the team, we used to sit on TV and say that Shadab is the backbone, Shadab's overs are very important, he can bat as well. It was us who used to talk about Shadab," he said.

 

While praising Shadab's character and respectful nature, Afridi drew on his own career to make his point, recalling that former cricketers "even cursed" players of his generation, yet they responded with performances rather than words.

 

"Shadab, you also performed well against Namibia. God willing, you will also perform against New Zealand. Son, perform.  In difficult times, we used to stand with you, we used to back you, we used to lift you up. You didn't play domestic cricket. Despite that, you came into the Pakistan team, and yet we are sitting here to support you," Afridi said.

 

He closed with a direct challenge. "Perform and then God willing, give us an answer. So that we also become silent, and when the World Cup ends, we will become silent," he said.

 

It is worth noting that India defeated Pakistan by 61 runs in the ongoing T20 World Cup on Sunday. Chasing 176, Pakistan could manage only 114 and were bowled out in 18 overs, marking their fourth T20 defeat to India in six months.