'There is so much speculation' - Wahab Riaz denies discord between Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi

Babar Azam is set to reclaim the captaincy reins for Pakistan in the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand, succeeding Shaheen Afridi, who had a brief stint as the T20I captain. Shaheen took over the role after Babar resigned following Pakistan's exit from the 2023 ODI World Cup. However, following a disappointing 1-4 defeat in New Zealand and a lacklustre performance in the PSL 2024, Shaheen was relieved of his duties, and Babar was reinstated as the skipper.

Speculation arose regarding the relationship between Babar and Shaheen, fueled by cryptic social media post from the latter expressing his discontent with the manner of his exit. However, Pakistan selector and senior team manager Wahab Riaz addressed these rumours, emphasising that the reality is different from what has been speculated by the media and social media users. 

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Wahab highlighted the camaraderie within the team during a recent training camp, dispelling any notions of enmity between Babar and Shaheen. "There is so much speculation [in Pakistan]... we really are the ones ruining our environment. Until things were not clear, media and social media were so active that it felt if we had not gone to Kakul [fitness camp], they might have just hit each other,". 

He emphasised that the atmosphere during their training with the Army was really positive and advised the media to confirm the truth before breaking it. 

"When we actually went, we saw an atmosphere as friendly as we could have seen. The boys were united. After their training and iftar, they would head to the snooker room or watch TV together. It was a really good atmosphere," Riaz emphasised. 

Ramiz Raja's comment on Mohammad Amir is very harsh: Riaz

Addressing criticism directed at Mohammad Amir by former PCB chief Ramiz Raja, Wahab defended the left-arm seamer, who recently made a comeback to the national side after four years. "These are Pakistan players who want to represent their country, and that is their collective goal, and they are united because of that, and will be. The players you talk about will win Pakistan games in the future," he added. 

“Ramiz Raja saab's comment on Mohammad Amir is very harsh. I don’t believe that he deserves that because it was a very negative comment,” Wahab concluded.