The alleged leak of Pakistan captain Babar Azam's chat with a top Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official and irresponsible statements originating from the board have not gone down well with the country's former players, including Shahid Afridi who has slammed PCB chief Zaka Ashraf, asking him to "deliver and work" like a chairman instead of calling media houses in the wake of team's disappointing show in the ongoing ICC World Cup.
After suffering four consecutive defeats, which deflated Pakistan's World Cup campaign, the team beat Bangladesh by seven wickets in Kolkata on Tuesday to keep its faint semifinal hopes alive.
The alleged leak of Babar's chat happened after Pakistan's run of consecutive defeats, which followed rumours of PCB chairman not taking Babar's calls and the players having not been paid for five months.
Former Pakistan captains Waqar Younis and Shahid Afridi have slammed the developments while the team is still playing in the World Cup and not out of the race to semis.
“Zaka Ashraf sahab kisi club ke chairman nahi hai, woh PCB ke chairman hai (Ashraf is the PCB chairman, not of any club)," said Afridi on a Pakistan news channel. "He should keep a lot of things in mind. You are calling the owners of media houses and saying that somebody is saying things about you. For God's sake, do your job and deliver what is expected from you. They are talking about you because you are giving them the chance. Just do your job."
"The team is playing the World Cup and you are giving one statement after the other...apne kaam se kaam rakho, Zakah Ashraf sahab (focus on your work)", the former all-rounder said.
Pakistan are currently number five on the points table with six points from three wins in seven matches. The top four teams at the end of the round-robin phase will qualify for the semi-finals.
