Rohit Sharma was in tremendous form vs Australia in T20 World Cup© AFP

After allegations of spot-fixing and match-fixing against the Pakistan cricket team surfaced online, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has asked those making such claims to come up with “proof”. The board also said that a legal action will be taken against the ones if any allegation is made without any proof. The statement from PCB was not official as Cricket Pakistan quoted a source from the governing body. While the source confirmed that the PCB is aware of the “negative comments”, it termed the accusations as “baseless”. It is worth noting that such allegations against the Babar Azam and Co. are surfacing after their early exit from T20 World Cup 2024.

“We are fully aware of these negative comments. Criticism within the bounds of the game is acceptable and there is no objection to it. However, baseless allegations like match-fixing cannot be tolerated under any circumstances,” said a PCB source as quoted by the Pakistan-based news organisation.

The news outlet also asked if the board would conduct an investigation while responding to the claims.

“PCB has no doubts, so why should we conduct an inquiry? Those who made the allegations should provide proof. We have instructed our legal department to issue notices to such individuals and demand evidence. If not provided, we will seek compensation for defamation. A new law in Punjab ensures that a decision will come within six months,” the sources added.

After Pakistan’s T20 World Cup 2024 group stage exit, former cricketers and administrators have been quite aggressive in criticising the Babar Azam-led side.

From poor fitness to lack of intent, every aspect of Pakistan is under the scanner after the 2022 T20 World Cup runners-up were knocked out from the group stage. Pakistan’s campaign started with two losses against T20 World Cup debutants USA  and former champions India. They could never recover from those losses despite winning the last two matches. 

A senior journalist Mubashir Lucman raised a serious allegation against Babar, which concerns the Pakistan captain being gifted a costly car. Babar was gifted an Audi e-Tron GT by his elder brother late last year. In India, the approximate cost of the car is about INR 2 crore while in Pakistan currency it’s more than double.

The journalist said in video, which has gone viral, “Babar Azam has got new e-Tron. He has said his brother gifted it. I wondered what does his brother do that he is gifting a Rs 7-8 crore car. I found out that he does nothing. Then somebody told me that if you lose to small teams, even then you will not get plots, cars then who will get? I told the person that these are serious allegation. He told me everyone knows who is doing what.”

The video drew mixed response with some users saying that people are trying to defame the Pakistan team.

The captaincy of the Pakistan cricket team has been in spotlight in the past six months or so. It first hogged limelight when Babar Azam stepped down from his role as Pakistan skipper across formats following the team’s poor campaign in Cricket World Cup 2023. After this Shan Masood was appointed as the Test captain of Pakistan and Shaheen Afridi was handed the responsibility to lead the team in the T20I format. Shaheen could stay in the role only for one series. It was a five-match contest against New Zealand that Pakistan lost 4-1 and Shaheen was sacked as the T20I captain with Babar Azam replacing him in the role.

Babar led Pakistan to a 2-1 series win before the side came up against England in a four-match T20I series that is currently underway.

Despite several rumours about a rift between Shaheen and Babar, things looked good in the Pakistan camp. However, a recent report has re-ignited the cliams.

Shaheen refused to take up the role of Pakistan vice-captain in the T20I format ahead of the upcoming World Cup in USA and West Indies, stated a report in ESPNcricinfo.

Pakistan on May 24 announced the squad for T20 World Cup 2024 and surprisingly, no one was assigned the position of vice-captain.

Pakistan squad for T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan.

Player support personnel: Wahab Riaz (senior team manager), Mansoor Rana (team manager), Gary Kirsten (head coach), Azhar Mahmood (assistant coach), Simon Helmot (fielding coach), David Reid (mental performance coach), Aftab Khan (high performance coach), Cliffe Deacon (physiotherapist), Irtaza Komail (chief security officer), Mohammad Imran (masseur), Mohammad Khurram Sarwar (team doctor), Talha Ijaz (analyst), Raza Kitchlew (media and digital manager) and Drikus Saaiman (strength and conditioning coach).

File photo of India vs Pakistan match.© AFP