ICC World Cup 2023: 'Pakistan players have not got salaries,' says former cricketer

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Pakistan cricket is going through some serious turmoil as national team players have not received their salaries from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), claimed former international cricketer Rashid Latif on a state-owned TV channel.

The claim came after Pakistan slumped to their fourth consecutive defeat in the ICC World Cup 2023. They lost by a wicket in their latest encounter with South Africa at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday (October 27).

"The players have not got salaries... the Chairman is not responding to the captain and in these circumstances what do we expect from the team," Rashid Latif said on PTV sports channel. He further added that some of the players have been told that their recent contract with PCB is under review.

He further claimed PCB chief Zaka Ashraf has also been ignoring calls from skipper Babar Azam. "I know for a fact that Babar has got no response from the Chairman (Zaka Ashraf) when he called and messaged from India," Latif claimed.

Pakistan bowling legend Wasim Akram meanwhile was unhappy with some of the decisions Babar Azam made during the defeat to South Africa, including the decision to give 48th over to Mohammad Nawaz instead of Usama Mir.

"I don't know what he (Babar) was doing. Why give Nawaz the over when he had not bowled well at all in the innings and was lacking confidence? Usama was the obvious choice with the fast bowlers having finished their spells. Poor captaincy," Akram said on 'The Pavilion'.

Also present at the show Shoaib Malik added that Babar Azam is not the right guy to lead Pakistan as he has failed to score runs in crunch matches under pressure. "I have always said that Babar is not made for captaincy. He can't handle the pressure and it is affecting his batting badly," Malik said.

Pakistan are currently sixth on the table with just four points (two wins) from six matches. Another defeat could be the last nail in the coffin with just three matches left to play in the round-robin stages.