Babar Azam’s future seems at stake amid chief selector’s Inzamam-ul-Haq resign. As chief selector of Pakistan’s men’s national cricket team and junior men’s selection team, resigned today. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced a fact-finding committee to investigate the ongoing speculation in the media about the conflict of interest in team selection.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has set up a five-member fact-finding committee to investigate allegations in respect of conflict of interest reported in the media pertaining to the team selection process.
The committee will submit its report and any recommendations to the PCB…
— PCB Media (@TheRealPCBMedia) October 30, 2023
Inzamam ul Haq, while talking to a local news outlet, said, “I am stepping down from the post to offer the PCB the opportunity to conduct a transparent inquiry about the conflict-of-interest allegations raised in the media. If the committee finds me not guilty, I will resume my role as the chief selector.”
Inzamam, who in the past was criticized for promoting nepotism in the board as his nephew Imam-ul-Haq also plays for the national team. He further said, while expressing his grief, “I am a human being, and it hurts. “I have a 20-year cricket career during which I represented Pakistan. I am not someone who people don’t know. When such allegations are leveled, it hurts.”
Background to this development
A renowned retired Pakistani cricketer, Rashid Latif, said in a program that the chairman of PCB was not picking up the call of Babar Azam. Then, the chairman, while giving an interview on Sunday, denied these claims. To make matters worse, the journalist who interviewed Zaka Ashraf leaked a personal chat between Babar Azam and a PCB official.
Read more: Private chat of Babar Azam with COO Salman Naseer leaked
All these developments are not helping the cause of the Pakistan cricket team. The team has already lost four matches and is close to getting knocked out of the World Cup.
Babar Azam is currently ranked No. 1 in the ICC ODI ranking. He is already severely criticized for his performance as a captain and player. The latest resignation of chief selector and PCB’s announcement of the fact-finding committee is likely to endanger his captaincy. At the same time, some experts believe this conflict-of-interest scandal can prove bigger than the 2010 fixing scandal.