Zacka Ashraf brushes aside reports of rifts in the Pakistan team

• Zaka Ashraf laments the underpaid Pakistani cricketers.
• PCB chief says he had no conversation with skipper Babar Azam.
• Pakistani players will be able to play a league other than PSL.
  

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Zaka Ashraf on Monday brushed aside reports of discord within the national team, saying there was no conflict among team members.

“The whole team is united. The enemies of cricket are making baseless stories,” Ashraf said while addressing media in Bahawalpur.

It is pertinent to mention that the team’s underperformance recently at the 2023 World Cup had fueled rumors of an ‘internal rift’ within the national team that led to back-to-back failures for the team at the event.

Earlier, the PCB had also ‘refuted’ speculations of any internal discord in the national cricket team.

Ashraf said he had invited former chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq — who last month resigned from his post following allegations of conflict of interest — to a meeting, but he resigned before that.

He reiterated that the Pakistan cricket team is cohesive, saying there was no discord among the players.

He then expressed his best wishes for the national team.

The PCB chief also said that there was a proposal to allow Pakistani cricketers to play only one league apart from the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Appreciating the players, Ashraf said that the Pakistani footballers put up a great show in the previous match of the 2023 World Cup.

He then lamented that Pakistani cricketers are relatively poorly paid. “Our cricketers get very little money.”

The PCB chief further stated that he did not have any conversation with Pakistan skipper Babar Azam.

Speaking about representing Pakistan in India after many years, Ashraf said seeing a huge national flag at the Ahmedabad Cricket Stadium during the World Cup match against the would-be rivals on October 14.