Babar Azam 'private video leak' scandal: Pakistan board slams media outlets over fake news

A joke tweeted from a parody account has fuelled a controversy embroiling one of the best cricketers in recent times. Pakistan batter Babar Azam has been trending since Sunday evening, and social media has come down brutally on him, alleging that the skipper behaved inappropriately with a woman.

The tweet from the account Dr Nimo Yadav (@niiravmodi) read, “Babar Azam $©*ting with GF of another Pakistan cricketer and promising her that her bf won’t be out of the team if she keeps $©*ting with him is just.” This tweet has since been deleted.

An Instagram user posted several video clips and audio recordings of conversations, purportedly with Babar. Dr Nimo Yadav shared this damaging post on Twitter with the false claim of $©*ting.

In a typical Babar fashion, the cricketer remained calm as social media users and mainstream media widely reported the controversy without verifying it. However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PBC) responded and slammed Fox news for tweeting the baseless allegations.

"As our media partner, you might have considered ignoring such unsubstantiated personal allegations which Babar Azam has not deemed worthy of a response."

Since then, the broadcaster has deleted the tweet.

Babar has received support from his solid fan base, with Pakistani supporters trending hashtags like #StayStrongBabarAzam and #BehindYouSkipper.

Babar has not been performing well with his bat, and there has been a murmur about his exit from the national team as captain.

Under his leadership the team had to suffer a 3-0 clean sweep by England in a home Test series. And then, in the 2-match Test series against New Zealand, Pakistan played to a scoreless draw. They suffered another blow as Babar and company lost the three-match home ODI series against the Kiwis.

Pakistan did not triumph in a single home Test match during the current World Test Championship (WTC) cycle while Babar served as captain. Despite guiding Pakistan to the 2022 T20 World Cup final, Babar Azam's future as captain has been the subject of ongoing rumours.

ajanta@khaleejtimes.com

ALSO READ:

• 'Baseless': Pakistani actor Sadia Khan blasts Aryan Khan dating rumours

• UAE's Pakistan-born cricketer Muhammad Waseem enjoying the spotlight in ILT20

• 'Besharam Rang' row: CBFC asks 'Pathaan' makers to make changes before theatrical release

• Sports
• Pakistan