‘Ghatiya harkat’, ‘Pathetic’: Pakistan cricket legends livid as Pakistan news channel airs Babar Azam’s purported WhatsApp chats

The conversation is said to be between Babar Azam and PCB’s Chief Operating Officer Salman Naseer.

Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam during a practice session ahead of the Pakistan vs Bangladesh Cricket World Cup match at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. Express photo by Partha Paul.

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Cricket legends Shahid Afridi and Waqar Younis lashed out at a Pakistan new channel and its journalists after it aired a purported WhatsApp conversation with Pakistan cricket captain Babar Azam. The chats are said to be between Babar and PCB’s Chief Operating Officer Salman Naseer.

This comes on the heels of former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif claiming that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Zaka Ashraf has stopped answering calls from Pakistan captain. Pakistan cricket is already going through a turbulent time with the Pakistan team in 6th spot in the standings of the ongoing Cricket World Cup, having won just two of their six matches so far.

“I saw Rashid Latif reporting that there is a tiff between Babar Azam and Zaka Ashraf. To counter those reports in this way was uncalled for. Why did Shoaib Jatt bring it up? Did the chairman ask him to do so?” Afridi said on Samaa TV after another Pakistani news channel showed Babar’s WhatsApp chats in a show.

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“(Main yeh kahunga yeh ghatiya harkat hai) It is a pathetic move. If it has been done by PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf, then it is very sad. How can you leak someone’s private messages, that too of captain Babar Azam. It is the board that is defaming our players. This shows our own players in a bad light.”

Waqar was also livid over the issue.

“Ya kya Karna ki koshish kar raha ho aap loog??? This is pathetic !!! Khush ho gaya aap loog. Please leave @babarazam258 alone He’s an asset of Pakistan Cricket @TheRealPCB @ARYNEWSOFFICIAL @Salman_ARY,” Waqar wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

This comes one day before Pakistan’s clash against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The day also saw Pakistan’s chief selector Inzamam ul Haq resign over ‘conflict of interest’ allegations.