Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has reportedly filed a defamation suit of Rs 1 billion PKR against the journalist who accused him for match-fixing in the ongoing T20 World Cup after the Men in Green's flop show in the showpiece tournament.
The 2009 suffered a shocking first-round exit from the T20 World Cup 2024, taking place in the United States and West Indies. They paid the price for a Super Over defeat against USA in their campaign opener, followed by a nervy six-run defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India.
Subsequently, the journalist named Mubashir Luqman alleged that Babar had received lavish gifts, including an Audi E-Tron and luxury apartments in Australia and Dubai.
Luqman suggested these were bribes that influenced Babar Azam and his teammates to underperform deliberately, particularly pointing to Pakistan's unexpected loss to the USA.
In a bold counterattack, Babar has issued a defamation notice to the journalist. In the notice, which The Indian Express has access to, Luqman has been asked to apologise within 14 days.
“You are hereby called upon to tender an unconditional apology and retraction in the same manner in which you issued the defamatory statements on your YouTube show and with the same prominence within a period of 14 days, failing which our client reserves the right to institute legal proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction, against you, under the Defamation Ordinance 2002 for damages of Rs 1 Billion,” read the notice.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Babar Azam’s lawyer Qazi Umair Ali slammed Mubashir Luqman for not respecting an exceptional talent.
“We have got a player of Babar’s calibre after a long time. Maybe after Younis Khan. The things which have been said are absolutely ridiculous. In the past, such things have also happened in Pakistan cricket. Yes, he didn’t perform well. It happens. Virat Kohli struggled for three years, and we never heard a word about anything negative from India about Virat, instead, the entire country was backing him,” Ali said, before adding that the Pakistan captain doesn’t want to drag the matter but only wants an apology from Luqman.
“In Pakistan, you have to give a 14-day notice before filing a case in the court. If the person comes forward and apologises in that 14-day time then it is well and good. If they don’t then you can go to the court and file the case,” he stated.
Earlier, Pakistan assistant coach Azhar Mahmood also issued a statement, citing that he will be “pursuing legal advice against those responsible for making these false allegations”.
“This culture of falsely accusing and misleading people to believe a false narrative is now getting ridiculous and dangerous. Speaking without evidence and misconstruing facts is a criminal offence, and those engaging in such behaviour will be dealt with through legal action,” Azhar tweeted.
“Pursuing an increase in followers and media attention by spreading falsehoods is downright unacceptable. I will be pursuing legal advice against those responsible for making these false allegations towards me and my family, and strict action will be taken accordingly. We will not be discussing this matter further on social media. I urge everyone to avoid engaging with or entertaining these harmful narratives as it is essential to put an end to such behaviour in our media culture.”
(The Indian Express Inputs)
