Waqar Younis slams Pakistani TV channel: 'Please leave Babar Azam alone, he is an asset'

Veteran cricketer and former coach for Pakistan cricket team, Waqar Younis, Monday slammed a private television channel for airing a private WhatsApp conversation allegedly between captain Babar Azam and a senior Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official during their live show on Sunday night.

Younis's reaction came after last night's episode received immense backlash from other former cricketers as well as netizens who termed the chat's airing a breach of privacy and an unethical move.

The channel, its host and team were censured for their tactless decision as they remained live on-air and were also called out for leaving behind ethics and moral duties as journalists.

Joining other cricketers to call the irresponsible behaviour of the channel, anchorperson and journalists, Younis, too, took to X, formerly Twitter, to share his displeasure.

"What are you guys trying to do??? This is pathetic!!! You guys are happy now. Please leave @babarazam258 alone. He's an asset of Pakistan Cricket," the veteran cricketer said, adding the X handles of PCB, the private television channel and its owner in his post.

Meanwhile, Azhar Ali, a veteran Test cricketer and a panellist in the same show, also questioned if consent was taken from Babar before the screenshot was sent to the journalist who works for the said TV channel.

"Did they take Babar's permission before forwarding the message to him?" Ali asked while pointing towards the journalist who shared the chat with the channel's team.

The Test cricketer also asked if Babar's consent was taken before displaying the alleged message on air, as it was a "personal message".

The journalist, however, defended his act saying that it is his "job" to run something when received. 

"He did not send the personal message to me."

Former cricketer claims PCB distancing from Babar

For the last few days, since Pakistan's poor performance in the World Cup 2023 came under discussion on both mainstream and social media, reports regarding PCB's alleged distancing from captain Babar Azam also started making the rounds.

This airing of the alleged message, however, came after veteran cricketer Rashid Latif, during a live show for state broadcaster PTV Sports, claimed that the board's senior management was ignoring the skipper's messages. Soon after, Latif's comments garnered immense traction following which the alleged chat was broadcast during the live TV show.

The former Pakistan skipper claimed that the captain has been sending messages to the PCB Management Committee Chairman Zaka Ashraf, Chief Operating Officer Salman Naseer and Director of International Cricket Usman Wahla for the last two days, but all three of them are not responding.