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The Pakistan cricket team are undergoing a difficult time both on and off the field. While the Babar Azam-led outfit have won just two out of six matches in the 2023 World Cup so far, off field controversies, such as Babar’s text messages being leaked, and Inzamam-ul-Haq stepping down as chief selector, have hurt the team.
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On Monday, Babar Azam’s WhatApp text conversation with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) COO Salman Naseer was leaked by ARY News, a Pakistani news channel. In the chat, Salman had questioned Babar for calling PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf, an allegation Babar denied.
Later in the day, Inzamam resigned as the chief selector of PCB following a conflict of interest, as the former skipper had a stake in an agency that manages players including Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi.
While the news anchor has apologised for leaking Babar’s chats on live television, former Pakistan cricketers, including Shahid Afridi, have criticised his country’s media for their actions.
“Main yeh kahunga yeh ghatiya harkat hai (It is a pathetic move). This cannot be done. Hum apne mulk ko khud hi badnam kar rahe hain (We are defaming our country and our players). How can you show someone’s private messages like this, and that too, of our captain Babar Azam?” Afridi told on Samaa TV.
“I heard somewhere in the news that Babar has been trying PCB chief but he’s not responding. I think this act has been done to counter that. I don’t understand why this has been done.
“And why it’s aired on national television? Did the PCB Chairman ask him to do so? At least the anchor said so. What kind of behaviour is this? And if the Chairman has really done this, then I’m very sorry, it’s pathetic,” the legendary spinner added.
As far as Inzamam resigning is concerned, the PCB have appointed a five-member committee to look into the allegations against the 53-year-old.
“Later I got a call that they had formed a five-member committee,” Inzamam was quoted as saying by Dawn.
“We are cricketers and we are available all the time to serve the country. Since I am facing an inquiry, and as the nature of my job is, I should step down and let them conduct the probe,” Inzamam added.
A senior Pakistan player, meanwhile, who was not named, said that the PCB wanted the team to fail in the World Cup.
“The board wants the team to fail, they don’t want us to win the World Cup just so that they can make the changes and take control of who leads the team and who gets into the team,” the player told Cricbuzz.
Amid the ongoing controversies, former spinner Danish Kanera felt that the PCB were “downgrading” the cricketers’ morale by focusing on “geopolitics” rather than cricket. He cited the situation of the Afghanistan cricket team, who are on a high in the World Cup with three wins in six matches.
“While Team Afghanistan is focusing more on cricket and less on politics, Team Pakistan is focused less on cricket and more on geopolitics.
@TheRealPCB is downgrading the morale of its cricketers by constantly issuing removal warnings to the captain in case of poor performance.
This is happening when team selection is already in question. Babar Azam’s private chats have been leaked and Inzamam-ul-haq has stepped down as chief selector after his alleged involvement in player management company.
Pakistan team is going through a worse phase. It time for some major changes in PCB as well as the team,” Kaneria wrote on ‘X’, formerly Twitter.
While Team Afghanistan is focusing more on cricket and less on politics, Team Pakistan is focused less on cricket and more on geopolitics. @TheRealPCB is downgrading the morale of its cricketers by constantly issuing removal warnings to the captain in case of poor performance.…
— Danish Kaneria (@DanishKaneria61) October 31, 2023
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