[AUDIO] Unconfirmed audio leak: Zaka Ashraf complaining about undue influence on selection by external parties

[Major]

This is the audio leak doing the rounds on Twitter.

For those of you not following the selection news going around, Zaka Ashraf had a meeting and was willing to drop Mohammad Rizwan and bring in Azam Khan. They also talked about dropping Babar Azam aswell.

Thing is, this whole saya corporation thing has been taken way too personally by Zaka.

Wahab Riaz is now acting as a political tool and was willing to bend for Zaka. This same guy used to talk big and fairness on media.

Thankfully, Mohammad Hafeez intervened and said that Babar and Rizwan wont get dropped for the NZ tour.

Mohammad Rizwan should had been captain, but Zaka Ashraf has issue with Rizwan being friends with Babar Azam, which is again stupid.

The audio proves that Shan Masood has been made captain only due to Zaka's politics to reduce the influence of Babar and Rizwan. It seems like that Rizwan would had been playing, but they made sure that Shan played Sarfraz. I wonder if Shan Masood is trying to appease the PCB bosses here

Zaka issue seems to be that because Babar Azam did not select the squad he wanted and lost Asia Cup and World Cup, Zaka thinks that made him look bad so he is now trying to get Babar dropped. Meanwhile, he did not like that Rizwan played a hand in manipulating the contracts and the whole Saya thing blew up against PCB that he is now starting a personal war with Rizwan.

Zaka trying to target Rizwan and Babar is unjustified here.

 

[MenInG]

From the recording, Zaka seems to mention Talha by name and says he has influence.

 

[shamaan]

Babar wanted a rest for this test series so good idea of resting Babar for the t20 series.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

"Captain favors his close friends in the playing XI. There was no place for Shadab in the team but he is a friend of someone special so he played. However, this should not have happened."


Certainly from this audio leak one thing is for sure, Shadab's time is over now.

 

[Savak]

Zaka Ashraf needs to go. You can't have such a careless irresponsible incompetent individual leaking things about the PCB and players to the journalists left right and centre i.e. Babar's text messages, internal PCB stuff.

PM Kakar is even more incompetent for allowing this buffoon to complete his tenure.

 

[Bewal Express]

Who leaked this? Was anyone recording this. Zaka should not be anywhere near any self respecting organisation and as the PCB has no self respect, he is the perfect fit.

 

[Major]

Who leaked this? Was anyone recording this. Zaka should not be anywhere near any self respecting organisation and as the PCB has no self respect, he is the perfect fit.

either a self leak, or intelligence leak, journalist leak, or some pcb official leak.

If its a journalist leak, it shows that in selection meetings, journalist are also being invited.

 

[Major]

It seems as if he was sitting with his family and you can hear his daughter, as she says abu quite a few times.

So they did not make Rizwan captain because of what? You having personal issue with his agent?

This whole thing was blown apart by ARY and fickle minds like Zaka took the whole saya thing as some big conspiracy. If saya was an issue PCB would had taken them to court. I think and Rizwan and co should take PCB to court now because from this audio its clear that these guys made a decision against Rizwan only because of who his agent is.

If only our PCB spent this time on banning and not giving jobs to fixers instead of blocking the way of honest cricketers

 

[Bewal Express]

either a self leak, or intelligence leak, journalist leak, or some pcb official leak.

If its a journalist leak, it shows that in selection meetings, journalist are also being invited.

The PCB has been in disarray since RR left. He wasn't much but at least he was sincere. This idiot should stick book keepinf for AZ.But the recording of private conversation ls is wrong.

 

[hitthestump]

Whether the leak is genuine or not, who cares?

Babar and Rizwan are two of the best players in the team and they will let their on field actions do the talking for them.

Off field politics will only get so far. Even if you got these two out of the team it would only take a few matches before the fans would be clamouring for their return.

Sarafaraz has had one game as WK and already people want Rizwan back. It’s obvious who is the better player.

 

[Rana]

Saya Corps needs to be investigated from the FIA

Babar and Rizwan’s phones/laptops and every mode of communication needs to be confiscated

Their bank accounts need to be investigated

 

[Major]

Saya Corps needs to be investigated from the FIA

Babar and Rizwan’s phones/laptops and every mode of communication needs to be confiscated

Their bank accounts need to be investigated

Easy to say anything on the internet.

For any such investigation or confiscation you need some evidence on which basis a warrant can be issued. Just cause you dont like someone mean you start confiscating things. Doesnt work that way in real life, maybe in bollywood movies.

If PCB things Saya did something wrong, they can place a case in court against them. But the odd thing is thye never filed a case against them in court.

I wish you vouched for such investigations against players that fixed games in Pakistan team and in PSL. But it looks like your issue is against the player not the act.

 

[Saj]

Pakistan cricket is becoming a joke on and off the field.

They need professional people running the game asap.

 

[Rana]

Pakistan cricket is becoming a joke on and off the field.

They need professional people running the game asap.

This is an audio leak. It’s a violation of someone’s privacy. How is Zaka to blame for this? Also, isn’t it just confirming what we already know? That Pakistan cricket is being controlled by one agency?

 

[chinaman00]

Pakistan cricket is a stage that churns out nonstop tragic comedies that can shame Shakespeare.

 

[Caved12]

Pakistan cricket is becoming a joke on and off the field.

They need professional people running the game asap.

So true Saj! Only then we can expect this team to start producing positive results. I am not defending our players as we have been pathetic for as long as I remember, but cricket is such a mental game where all the off field issues can bring any team down to the level where we are these days.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Babar and Rizwan being dropped would actually have been good for them.

They could have inflated their stats against Nepal and Uganda later again.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Said it the day Zaka was appointed, his way of running PCB like a mafia boss isn't going to work. The people in charge who appointed him didn't learn from his obnoxious ways the first time.

 

[adzzy786]

Pakistan cricket is becoming a joke on and off the field.

They need professional people running the game asap.

Thing is when we have lunatics running the country, then cricket which is influenced by them stands no chance

 

[Sher Khan]

It seems as if he was sitting with his family and you can hear his daughter, as she says abu quite a few times.

So they did not make Rizwan captain because of what? You having personal issue with his agent?

This whole thing was blown apart by ARY and fickle minds like Zaka took the whole saya thing as some big conspiracy. If saya was an issue PCB would had taken them to court. I think and Rizwan and co should take PCB to court now because from this audio its clear that these guys made a decision against Rizwan only because of who his agent is.

If only our PCB spent this time on banning and not giving jobs to fixers instead of blocking the way of honest cricketers

I also thought it was his daughter as she keeps saying "Abu". But the journalist that initially tweeted this leak said the female is the daughter of the guy sitting next to Zaka Ashraf.

So my understanding is it might have been a dinner or something and the female must have recorded them speaking secretly.

 

[Sher Khan]

Does anyone else think the female in the recording sounds exactly like Aalia Rasheed, the current PCB Media Manager?

 

[adil_909]

Someone created a separate thread titled, "How did Pakistan cricket fall so far behind?" This thread is the answer to the question asked in that thread. No leadership, no vision, no planning. Results are there for everyone to see.

 

[adi_62941]

Pakistan cricket is becoming a joke on and off the field.

They need professional people running the game asap.

Everybody is hungry for power in Pakistan. Believe me, even the peon will become a godfather if appointed to a big position. As a nation, we have completely failed in every department. There is something very, very wrong in the thinking of Pakistanis and in analyzing things, which has been ingrained in them through rigorous efforts by the top leadership in the last three to four decades.

 

[MenInG]

Worrying thing is that the chairman is an interested party in this when he should be neutral and looking for due process to complete.

Work matters being discussed at home.

New low.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Leaked audio exposes ‘PCB plot’ to push Babar Azam out

LAHORE: While the country’s political landscape has been rocked by the leaks of several secretly-recorded phone conversations between key figures, Pakistan cricket also recently experienced a similar seismic shock.

An audio leak, purportedly featuring a voice said to belonging to Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) interim management committee chairman Zaka Ashraf, has exposed how plans were in motion to remove Babar Azam as the national team’s all-format captain.

Babar had announced he was stepping down as captain of the team following Pakistan’s limp performance at the World Cup in India, but the leaked audio has shone new light on how circumstances were created to force the star batter to quit.

Although the PCB did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Dawn, a source privy to the matter said that it was indeed the PCB chief’s voice in the recording.

The source claimed that the conversation was a private discussion with a member of his family, where the PCB boss can be heard discussing the appointments of Shan Masood and Shaheen Shah Afridi as the Test and T20 captains, respectively.

The conversation also centred on the role of player agents and the culture of friendship that was allegedly prevalent in the team, with Babar being accused of recruiting his close friends in the side.

The fact that most of the players who were selected for the World Cup were clients of Saya Corporation — an allegation that prompted chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq to resign from his post during the tournament — was also discussed.

In the audio recording, the voice believed to belong to Mr Ashraf reveals that he already had a back-up plan in mind for when Babar would relinquish the team’s captaincy.

“I asked Babar to stay on as Test captain, but told him that I was thinking of removing him as the white-ball captain,” the voice said to be Zaka Ashraf’s tells the other party. “Babar told me he would consult his family and then convey his decision.”

The same person adds that he knows that instead of calling his family, Babar would be calling Talha Rehmani, the CEO of Saya Corporation.

“Talha advised him to leave everything,” the PCB chief adds in the leak. “I had a Plan-B prepared should such a situation arise and when Babar told me he was stepping down, I called him and told him that you’re the captain now.”

Mr Ashraf doesn’t clarify whether it was Shan or Shaheen he called, although he’s asked by the voice on the other side, which belongs to a woman, whether wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan would’ve been a better option.

“I liked Rizwan a lot, but he’s too involved with Babar and Talha,” Zaka can be heard saying.

The woman’s voice posits that Shaheen seems under the control of former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi, who is the father-in-law of the T20 skipper, to which another person can be heard saying, “… this interference is quite common”.

Earlier in the audio, Babar was also accused of having insisted on playing “close friend” Shadab Khan, who was ineffective during the World Cup. There is also the mention of pacer Hasan Ali.

Mr Ashraf’s voice responds, saying that this was the reason for deterioration of Pakistan cricket. He also made clear his resentment of the Saya Corporation CEO. “He [Talha] has controlled eight players of the national team. He has signed contracts with the players […] he is such a smart guy that he has built a lot of relationships with the players’ families by going to the players’ houses, and the players can’t move without him,” he says.

The PCB began an inquiry into Inzamam’s links with Talha’s Saya Corporation, but it was stopped once the chief selector resigned.

In the leak, Mr Ashraf’s voice adds that Inzamam had begun “speaking against us” after he was ousted as chief selector. Dawn has also learnt that Mr Ashraf is considering a review of the PCB’s policy regarding player agents. Although work on the review is in its initial stages, the PCB is said to be considering a cap of two players per agent.
​

SOURCE: DAWN NEWS

 

[MenInG]

Am surprised that something so huge is getting such little attention in the media and also amongst players or PCB.

No denials or comment from PCB.

 

[Bewal Express]

Zaka and Sethi have no business being anywhere near the PCB. The PCB shouldn't be used as a tool to reward people for favours rendered.

 

[Rana]

Am surprised that something so huge is getting such little attention in the media and also amongst players or PCB.

No denials or comment from PCB.

Because it’s a non issue. Was Babar removed from captaincy unfairly according to you?

 

[MenInG]

Because it’s a non issue. Was Babar removed from captaincy unfairly according to you?

Not interested in that.

What I dont like is

1. Chairman of the PCB talking about his players like that
2. Insinuating his players are not in the control of the PCB

NO Chairman/CEO will be heard saying that and get away with it.

This is a huge issue and a failure in management.

 

[Rana]

Not interested in that.

What I dont like is

1. Chairman of the PCB talking about his players like that
2. Insinuating his players are not in the control of the PCB

NO Chairman/CEO will be heard saying that and get away with it.

This is a huge issue and a failure in management.

Well, I suppose you are not interested in the question that I asked because I believe you also do not agree with Babar continuing with captaincy…which is the sane opinion.

As for the chairman talking about players…you seem to forget that this is a leaked audio, the Chairman isn’t speaking like this on a public forum. Besides, it’s his opinion. It’s his opinion and understanding as well being at the job to say that a player agent has control over a majority of the Pakistan national side…this isn’t a baseless or Non-factual sentiment, it is absolutely true.

I don’t understand what he has said that should warrant his job to be in danger? He hasn’t mocked, ridiculed or used derogatory/Racist/sexist terminology. Nothing he has said is groundbreaking or shocking.

What’s shocking is that the PCB knows the power/manipulation of this agent yet they continued to hand over the white ball captaincy to a player of that agency. That’s what you should be worried about.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

I am most surprised that so far neither the PCB nor Zaka Ashraf has taken any action on this matter which confirms the authenticity of this audio leak.

 

[BouncerGuy]

How can anybody deny such a leak if it is true? Zaka knows that it was a big blunder so now he is all quiet.
I don't like this whole audio-video leak stuff, it seems very unethical but somehow it does bring out the real faces of the people.