Ex-PAK captain's chilling claim on WC disaster: ‘Players haven’t got salaries'

According to Rashid Latif, PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf has stopped responding to messages from captain Babar Azam after a poor show in 2023 World Cup.

Babar Azam's captaincy may be in jeopardy as the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Zaka Ashraf, has ceased communication with him, according to former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif. This news comes on the heels of Pakistan's fourth consecutive loss at the 2023 World Cup on Friday – a narrow one-wicket defeat to South Africa – which has all but sealed their exit from the tournament. Emotions are running high in the country, with former players expressing a strong disapproval of the captain.

In what initially appeared to be a relatively straightforward chase for 271 for South Africa, the match took a dramatic turn during the final overs of the game. The Proteas, initially in a comfortable position at 235/5, suddenly found themselves in rough spot at 260/9. This twist in the game was primarily due to an impressive display of high-quality fast bowling by Shaheen Shah Afridi (3/45) and Haris Rauf (2/62).

However, Keshav Maharaj (7 not out) and Tabraiz Shamsi (4 not out) played a crucial role in adding 11 pivotal runs for the final wicket, ultimately securing a remarkable victory in 47.2 overs. This victory propelled their team to the top spot on the points table with 10 points.

Babar has been criticised for his rather defensive and uninspiring captaincy throughout the tournament, and as the side faced its fourth-successive loss, Latif revealed the PCB chairman has stopped responding to Babar.

"I know for a fact that Babar has got no response from the Chairman (Zaka Ashraf) when he called and messaged from India," Latif claimed on the state-owned PTV sports channel.

“The players have not got salaries… the Chairman is not responding to the captain and in these circumstances what do we expect from the team.”

Latif also claimed that some senior officials in the board had now conveyed to the players the central contracts they signed before leaving for the World Cup were under review now. Latif, who was one of the original whistle-blowers during the infamous match-fixing saga claimed that a lobby that wanted Babar to endorse surrogate betting advertisements are rooting for his ouster although he didn't give any proof to substantiate his claims.

“You have to see who are the people who have been hit by this ban on surrogate advertising. Babar is being punished for his bold and principled stand on surrogate advertising before the World Cup,” claimed Latif.