PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf comes under fire again for an alleged audio tape related to the recent changes in the Pakistan Cricket Team.
A voice deemed to be of Zaka Ashraf is heard talking to an unidentified woman about the changes in the PCB, particularly the removal of Babar Azam from captaincy.
The conversation between Ashraf and an unidentified woman focused on the players and the player’s agent. They also talked about the friendship and player’s agent in the team.
Zaka Ashraf spoke about how he managed to remove Babar Azam from the captaincy of all formats. He also spoke about why he did not replace Babar Azam with Muhammad Rizwan as the captain.
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“We have seen how the captain prefers to play his close friends, there was no place for Shadab Khan [in the World Cup],” said the unidentified woman.
“Pakistan cricket is deteriorating because of this,” Ashraf concurred.
Another unknown individual in the audio said: “Hasan Ali also played because of the same reason [being Babar’s friend].
To which the woman replied: “No, Hasan played because Naseem [Shah] wasn’t there.”
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He also talked about agent Talha who he blames of influencing the decisions of the players. “There is this guy named Talha. He is a player agent. He has controlled eight players of the national team. He has signed contracts with the players […] he is such a smart guy that he has built a lot of relationships with the players’ families by going to the players’ houses, and the players can’t move without him. Talha Osmani, I think I don’t know what his name is,” Ashraf said.
He then added that he had offered Babar Azam to retain the captaincy of the Test format. “I had told Babar that you should keep the Test captaincy, I am thinking of removing you from the white ball. He [Babar] replied, ‘Well, I will discuss this at home, and then I will tell you my decision’. Babar called Talha and consulted him, and Talha advised him to leave everything,” the PCB official claimed.
Making another comment, Zaka Ashraf said that he had plan B ready to remove him from the captaincy. The woman on the other side of the phone inquired if Shan Masood was the captain for the white-ball format.
To which Ashraf replied, “No, it is Shaheen Afridi,” after which the woman questioned wasn’t Mohammad Rizwan the best option.
“I liked Rizwan a lot but he too was involved with Babar and Talha,” the PCB chief argued.
The woman then said: “But Shaheen is under the control of Shahid Afridi, his father-in-law and he interferes a lot,” to which the unknown person sitting there said, “This much [interefence] is very common”.