India, Sept. 1 -- Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali claimed that a rift developed between Shaheen Shah Afridi and Babar Azam over the captaincy, and that the scandal is the main reason for the national team's downfall. His comments came in the aftermath of the Lord's Test, where Pakistan lost by 194 runs. The Babar-led team is facing heat from all corners for showing no fight and going down in the opening two Tests of the three-match series.

Chaos reigns supreme in Pakistan cricket, and the PCB has replaced multiple captains and coaches. Babar stepped down as skipper after the 2023 ODI World Cup debacle, and Shaheen was made captain. However, a poor show in New Zealand led to Babar reclaiming the job from the pacer.

Babar was sidelined a...