Pakistan started their World Cup 2023 campaign with back-to-back wins over Netherlands and Sri Lanka. However, Babar Azam’s men lost the plot and went down against India and Australia in the next two games to find themselves out of top four on the points table.

In the wake of the two defeats, certain sections of Pakistan media reported about the altercation and grouping within the team.

In fact, some Pakistani journalists posted on social media about the alleged fights in the team and promised to reveal more details after the match against Afghanistan on Monday (October 23).

According to those posts, two players got into a physical altercation and skipper Babar Azam is facing isolation from a group of players.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has rubbished the reports of discord and infighting in the national team featuring in the World Cup in India.

"The Pakistan Cricket Board strongly denies recent speculations about any internal discord in the national cricket team currently participating in the ICC World Cup 2023,” PCB said in its official release.

“Contrary to rumours circulated by a certain section of the media, the PCB unequivocally assures that the team is cohesive and there is no evidence to support these unsubstantiated claims.

“The PCB is disappointed by the dissemination of this false news and emphasises the importance of upholding journalistic ethics before spreading such allegations," it added.

Pakistan will need to beat Afghanistan at Chepauk to be back in the race for the semifinals. The Men in Green are currently occupying the fifth spot on the 10-team points table.  

(With PTI Inputs)