The Pakistan cricket team has unfortunately been plagued by allegations of match-fixing and spot-fixing involving their players. Whenever the team suffers a loss, these accusations from fans and former cricketers resurface. Past incidents involving players such as Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, and Salman Butt have resulted in bans due to their involvement in spot-fixing, tarnishing the reputation of Pakistan cricket. Recently, former Pakistan batsman Basit Ali has also made serious allegations, further adding to the controversy surrounding the team.
In a recent video posted on his YouTube channel, the former Pakistan cricketer criticized his fellow former international player, Shoaib Malik, accusing him of involvement in match-fixing. He also expressed his disapproval of the Pakistan Cricket Board's decision to appoint Malik as the mentor of the Stallions, a team captained by Mohammed Haris and set to compete in the upcoming Champions One-Day Cup.
"The one who doesn't think about the country, should not be appointed. The one who has admitted that he has deliberately lost a match, should not be the mentor. If you want evidence I will give it. Ramiz Raja Saheb interviewed Shoaib Malik. What did he say?" the 53-year-old said.
Malik was recently appointed as the Stallion's mentor and he expressed his opinion that Babar Azam was not his preferred choice for the squad's captaincy.
”We’ve had discussions. Only those players would be selected as the captain who can be groomed into the role per my point of view and those who have some abilities as well. In my perspective, the skills a captain needs are different to personal performances. I plan on picking my captain who has the skills and can give success to Pakistan in the long run,” he said in a press conference.
Ali strongly criticized the decision made by Malik and labeled Azam as a coward for not standing up and refusing to play after appointing Mohammed Haris as the captain instead of the more experienced senior player.
“The only regret I have for Babar Azam is that everyone became captain but Shoaib Malik did not make him the captain and went for Haris instead. From Babar Azam’s pocket, you can pick out 10s of Haris’,” Basit shared.
“That is such a big insult to him. Babar is also a coward. He should have done it like Umar Akmal or Ahmed Shehzad refused to play,” he concluded.
As Pakistan Cricket endures a challenging period of poor performance, the nation eagerly anticipates the upcoming limited-overs domestic tournament as a potential catalyst for the selectors to revitalize the national team and propel them back to the pinnacle of success.
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