The Pakistani cricket squad is going through a difficult time. The team captained by Babar Azam has only won three of the seven matches in the Cricket World Cup. Although it is not impossible, securing a semi-final spot will be extremely difficult for the team. Amidst all of this, a significant scandal has surfaced around an alleged leak of Babar Azam’s WhatsApp chat. The PCB chief Zaka Ashraf has accused Babar Azam and Shahid Afridi of keeping calm. Shahid Afridi Slams PCB Chief For Statements Against Babar Azam. Scroll down to read more details about the scoop.
Shahid Afridi Slams PCB Chief For Statements Against Babar Azam
An image of the purported chat was posted by a Pakistani television broadcaster. “Babar, there’s also been this news circulating on TV and social media that you have been calling Chairman, and he’s not answering,” the text said, as shown by the Pakistani broadcaster. “Have you spoken to him lately?” wrote the sender, Salman.
“Greetings Salman bhai, ma ny to sir ko koi call nai ke (Hello Salman brother, I did not call sir),” said the recipient, whose identity was stored as “Babar Azam New.”
The PCB chief personally requested that the news anchor show the WhatsApp message during the show, as the anchor has recently disclosed, displaying the communication on live television.
About seven minutes before the broadcast was scheduled to begin, according to news anchor Waseem Badami, the channel got footage in which Ashraf requested that it be shown.
“We received a clip of Zaka Ashraf saying, ‘I am providing you this screenshot and I am requesting you to present it live on air,’ about five or seven minutes before the event started. We are also allowed to share that, according to Ashraf. On TV, he was taking accountability, so we figured we could split the cost. However, that wasn’t the best choice. We easily overlooked the fact that Babar Azam’s approval was equally crucial,” Badami stated in a video that he posted to X (the former Twitter).
“On behalf of the management and my team, let me say this. Neither my family nor I are proud of it. When something like this occurs, you strive to learn from it and avoid doing the same thing again,” he continued.
Following this, a video featuring former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi pleading with Zaka Ashraf to shut up has gone viral on social media.
An irate Shahid Afridi said on Samaa TV, “The chairman of the club is not Zakashraf. He is the Pakistan Cricket Board’s chairman. He has a lot of things to observe. It surprises me that you are calling media outlet owners to tell them, ‘He said this and that about me’. The chairman is you. You perform and meet expectations. People are saying things about you because you have allowed them to do so.
— Sports Ka SULTAN (@SportsKaSultan_) October 31, 2023
You concentrate on your task. As the team plays in the World Cup, you keep making remarks. You talk about Babar at times and someone else at other times. First, make your position stronger. Focus on meeting the standards set by us cricket players. Put aside the criticism that others have of you. You are the one providing the chance. Keep your distance from me.”
This occurs amid rumors that Zaka Ashraf, the head of the PCB, and Pakistan captain Babar Azam do not get along. Following a run of defeats at the Cricket World Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board issued a statement stating that “the board will make decisions” contingent on the team’s World Cup results.
The board has taken the view that victories and losses are just a part of the game, mirroring the criticism of past cricket players, in response to the media attention focused on skipper Babar Azam and the team management. The statement stated that Captain Babar Azam and Chief Selector Inzamam-ul-Haq were allowed flexibility and assistance in choosing the team for the ICC World Cup 2023.
“In the future, the board will decide what’s best for Pakistani cricket, taking into account the team’s World Cup results. The PCB currently exhorts supporters, former players, and other interested parties to unite in support of the squad as they endeavor to pull off a spectacular comeback in the major tournament,” Afridi continued.
