PCB chief Zaka Ashraf leaks Babar Azam’s personal WhatsApp message

It's unclear whether Babar consented to sharing his personal message on live TV, raising ethical questions about the PCB chief's actions, as leaking private messages might be seen as a breach of privacy

PHOTO: PCB

Rashid Latif, the former wicketkeeper for the Pakistani cricket team, claimed on Saturday that Zaka Ashraf, the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee, was allegedly neglecting Babar Azam's attempts to communicate with him through calls and text messages.

However, in response to these claims, Ashraf stated in an interview on a local news channel that the Pakistan captain had never reached out to him directly. Ashraf clarified, "He [Latif] says that I don’t pick up his [Babar's] call. He has never called me. The team’s captain is supposed to talk with Director International Cricket or the Chief Operating Officer."

Despite Ashraf's denial of any contact from Babar, he went to great lengths to substantiate his claim by sharing Babar Azam’s personal WhatsApp message with the interviewer. The WhatsApp exchange, aired on a live TV program, was between Babar and PCB’s Chief Operating Officer, Salman Naseer.

In this revealed conversation, Naseer's message reportedly stated, "Babar, there’s also been news circulating on TV and social media that you have been calling Chairman and he’s not answering. Have you called him recently?" According to the host, Babar responded, "Salam Salman bhai, I have not made any call to sir."

Shameful act done by @ARYNEWSOFFICIAL by leaking Babar Azam private WhatsApp messages on national tv. I agree on the manager conflict of interest bit but doing this is utter shameful act expected better from Mr Waseem badmi.@WaseemBadami pic.twitter.com/6Y0chDPXjH
— Mustafa (@Mustafasays_) October 29, 2023

Former Pakistan cricketer, Azhar Ali, also raised a similar point in the program and inquired whether PCB chief or the program took Babar’s consent before airing his personal message live on-air.

The aforementioned show's presenter, Waseem Badami, took to his social media platform to share a video in which he acknowledged the mistake he made by disclosing the WhatsApp conversation involving Babar.

Badami explained that there was hesitation initially about revealing the conversation, but since the PCB chief had given them permission to show it on-screen, they ultimately chose to broadcast it. Despite this, Badami emphasized that airing the conversation was an incorrect decision made by the channel, and he offered a sincere apology for the mistake.