Pakistan cricket and controversy go hand in hand. In the midst of the national team’s dismal World Cup 2023 campaign, skipper Babar Azam’s alleged WhatsApp chats surfaced in the media on Sunday (October 29).
The conversation between Babar and PCB’s Chief Operating Officer Salman Naseer was leaked on Pakistan’s leading news channel ARY News, which led to the anchor and media outlet facing severe backlash from the fans and former cricketers alike.
Amid the furore, TV anchor Waseem Badami accepted that he made a mistake by making the Pakistan captain’s private chat public and also apologised for it.
However, Badami left everyone shocked by claiming that PCB chief Zaka Ashraf provided them the screenshot of Babar's chat and told them to show it live.
“We have to make a lot of quick decisions when we produce a live show. A lot of people are involved in it too. Naturally, some decisions prove to be right and some wrong. As a team, we made a wrong decision, sharing Babar’s chat with a senior PCB official. In short, we were sitting together and deciding an hour before the show that we shouldn’t make a private chat public," Badami said in a video posted on his official X account.
“About five to seven minutes before the show, we received a clip where Zaka Ashraf is saying: ‘I am giving you this screenshot and I am asking you to show it live on screen'. Ashraf also gave us permission to share that. He was taking responsibility on TV; we thought we could share it. But it wasn’t the ideal decision. We conveniently forgot that Babar Azam's consent was also important. I'm saying this on behalf of my team and the management. I am not proud of it, we are not proud of it. When something like this happens, you learn from it and try not to repeat the same in future," he added.
It all started after former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif made a shocking claim that PCB officials, including chairman Zaka Ashraf, have been ignoring text messages of Babar Azam.
Latif also alleged that the Pakistan cricketers have not been paid by the board for the last five months.
Speaking to ARY News, Zaka Ashraf refuted these allegations, citing that the Pakistan captain had never gotten in touch with him directly.
“He [Latif] says that I don’t pick up his [Babar’s] call,” Ashraf said. “He’s never given me a call. The chief operating officer or the director of international cricket are expected to speak with the captain of the team.”
Subsequently, Babar Azam’s private chats emerged in the media, supporting the statement of the PCB chairman.
Babar is currently leading the Pakistan cricket team in the ongoing World Cup in India. Under his captaincy, the Men in Green have lost four out of six games and they are on the brink of early elimination from the global tournament.
