Babar Azam mulls ‘legal action’ over leaked WhatsApp chat

LAHORE: Pakistan captain Babar Azam has sought legal opinions over a leaked WhatsApp conversation with a senior cricket board official, sources said Geo News Wednesday.

Last month, a controversy arose after an alleged “private” WhatsApp conversation between Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and a senior Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official was broadcast live on local television.

The conversation showed text messages exchanged between the duo where the governor refused to call PCB Management Committee Chairman Zaka Ashraf when asked about rumors that he was trying to call the board chief with the latter answering his calls.

The leaked conversation – between Babar and PCB Chief Operating Officer (COO) Salman Naseer – fueled rumors that the PCB senior management was ignoring the skipper’s messages.

The sources said that the Green Shirts skipper is planning to take legal action over the leak of his private conversation on TV and weighing his options in this regard.

The right-handed batsman engaged in consultations – to take legal action – ahead of his meeting with the PCB chief at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore, sources added.

Furthermore, the 29-year-old has completed his consultations with his inner circle to captain the national side.

According to the sources, Babar is not in favor of retaining the captaincy for any format and is likely to give up the captaincy of all the three formats if he becomes the national team skipper for one format.

The right-hander, who currently leads the team in all three formats, is under scrutiny for Pakistan’s disappointing World Cup run and early exit from the major tournament with the Men in Green failing to make it to the semi-finals of the ongoing World Cup , thanks to their subpar performance in all three departments – batting, bowling and fielding.

It should be noted that he was appointed white ball captain in 2019 and Test captain in 2021.

As for who will replace him as captain, Shan Masood is a strong contender for the captaincy in the upcoming Test series against Australia and Shaheen Shah Afridi for the T20I series in New Zealand, sources said.

Shaheen may also lead the Green Shirts in next year’s T20 World Cup, the sources added.