Before World Cup, Pakistani team said they will not play in tournament, claims Yahya Husaini

Sports commentator Yahya Hussaini has claimed that before going to India to play in the World Cup, players had told Zaka Ashraf that they will neither participate in the World Cup nor any other ICC event.

In the Geo News program ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Saath’, the host asked Hussaini, “After the poor performance of the Pakistan team in the World Cup, the players and the board were being criticized. After Babar Azam’s chat leak, criticism turned towards Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB) and Chairman Zaka Ashraf, what is the matter that instead of waiting until the end of the World Cup or the return of the team these things are coming out?”

ذکاء اشرف کے بیانات اور انضمام الحق کا استعفیٰ۔ دیکھیئے ایک کے بعد ایک تنازعہ پر سکندر بخت،عبدالرزاق اور یحیٰ حسینی کا تجزیہ pic.twitter.com/ylVu20OsKT

— Geo News Urdu (@geonews_urdu) October 30, 2023

In response, Yahya Hussaini said, “This is a very old story. When Zaka Ashraf became the head of the PCB committee, he was not allowed to work, and a petition was filed against him in the court. In short, this is what I would like to say, that before going to the World Cup, the players had told Zaka Ashraf that they will neither participate in the World Cup nor in any ICC event nor will they use the ICC logo”.

Senior journalist Yahya Hussaini has revealed that before the World Cup, former chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq took captain Babar Azam to the house of Chairman PCB Zaka Ashraf to resolve conflicts between the players and the Board.

“528 million rupees were retained under the PCB central contract and a three-year contract, which was never done before, and 220.3 million rupees in this contract were also added from ICC (International Cricket Council)”.