Shaheen Shah Afridi shuns reports of rift with Babar Azam, calls him his 'family'

Amid reports claiming a rift between Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi, the Pakistani pacer posted a picture with his captain to end the speculation and called him his “family”.

There have been various reports claiming that the duo are not on the same page and had arguments after Pakistan's loss to Sri Lanka in a knockout fixture of Asia Cup 2023 last week.

In a picture posted by Shaheen Afridi on social platform X with Babar Azam, the left-arm pacer wrote “family” with a heart emoji.

He shared the picture on photo photo-sharing app, Instagram, as well.

After missing out on the final of the Asia Cup, the Pakistan men's team now shifted their focus to the World Cup in India. The selection, committee led by Inzamam-ul-Haq, has finished consultations with Babar Azam and the announcement of the 15-man squad will be made soon.

The Men in Green will travel to India on September 25. They will first travel to Hyderabad via Dubai and will reach on September 27, as per Cricbuzz.

Pakistan is set to play a total of eleven matches in the World Cup, with four of them, including two warm-up matches and two group games, scheduled to take place in Hyderabad.

Here is Pakistan's schedule for the ICC World Cup 2023:

October 6 - vs Netherlands in Hyderabad

October 10 - vs Sri Lanka in Hyderabad

October 14 - vs India in Ahmedabad

October 20 - vs Australia in Bengaluru

October 23 - vs Afghanistan in Chennai

October 27 - vs South Africa in Chennai

October 31 - vs Bangladesh in Kolkata

November 4 - vs New Zealand Bengaluru (Day match)

November 11 - vs England in Kolkata

The day matches will start at 10:00 am Pakistan Standard Time (PST) while all other matches will be day-night fixtures starting at 01:30 pm (PST).

If Pakistan qualify for the semi-finals, they will play in Kolkata.

If India qualify for the semi-finals, they will play in Mumbai unless playing against Pakistan, in which case they will play in Kolkata.