Shahid Afridi has slammed his son-in-law Shaheen Shah Afridi after the poor performance showing in the 2026 T20 World Cup for Pakistan. Speaking on live television, Afridi questioned Shaheen’s bowling decisions in crucial moments. His remarks came after Pakistan failed to reach the semi-finals following defeats to India and England. The comments have sparked debate among fans and experts.

Afridi stats, “when a right-hander is playing, you don't bowl round the wicket.” He added that if bowling round the wicket, the bowler must aim “inside the wickets.” He also pointed out that when “third man and point are up,” bowling outside off-stump is wrong. According to him, these are “very easy angles to get a lob on the Asian pitches.”

He further expressed frustration over repeated mistakes. Afridi said, “When will they understand these things? They don't learn, they don't want to learn, they don't want to run as players.” He highlighted how “eight players get out within twenty-eight runs,” showing a lack of responsibility. He believes the team is “very far behind” in its thinking and stuck in “old times, old eras.”

Shaheen’s Mixed World Cup Campaign

Shaheen Shah Afridi had a mixed tournament overall. He finished with 8 wickets in five matches and became Pakistan’s all-time leading T20I wicket-taker with 136 wickets, going past Haris Rauf. However, his economy rate of 10.53 raised concerns. His best performance came against England in the Super Eight stage, where he took 4/30 and removed Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, and Jacob Bethell early.

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🚨🚨Shahid Khan Afridi and SAQLAIN Mushtaq , Two different Stories ❗

- on one hand Saqlain M is trying his best to defend his son in law

- and on another hand Shahid Afridi is Criticising Shaheen after every Bad performance pic.twitter.com/QX8BPIHWaq

— SheR•ALI (@Sher__Ali) March 1, 2026

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In the final Super Eight match against Sri Lanka at Pallekele, Shaheen had a tough spell, finishing with 1/48 in four overs. Though he dismissed Pavan Rathnayake (58), he was hit for three consecutive sixes by Dasun Shanaka in the last over. Still, he defended 28 runs with a wide yorker on the final ball to seal a 5-run win. Abrar Ahmed also impressed with 3/23.

Pakistan posted 212/8 in that game, powered by a 176-run opening stand between Fakhar Zaman (84) and Sahibzada Farhan, who scored 100 off 60 balls. Farhan became the first player to hit two centuries in a single T20 World Cup and finished with 383 runs in the tournament. Despite the win, Pakistan were eliminated due to Net Run Rate, as they needed to restrict Sri Lanka to 147 or fewer. They ended level on points with New Zealand but missed out on a semi-final spot.