The assistant coach of the Pakistan Men’s cricket team, Azhar Mahmood took his stance on the ‘false allegations’ on various social platforms, after their team’s early exit from the ‘group stage’ of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, in the West Indies and the United States of America.
The Babar Azam-led didn’t have a great preparation coming into the ninth edition of the competition, as they lost the first of the three-match series against Ireland, before getting thrashed with a 2-0 series defeat against hosts England.
In their very first game of the tournament, they were up against the USA team, who were coming on the back of their win over Canada in the opening game of the event, and the series win over Bangladesh. The batters at the top order from the Pakistan side didn’t show any intent at all. They kept on taking singles, as the pressure was getting on the whole dressing room.
Shadab Khan tried to nail a few big shots, but it wasn’t enough as they fell short in their first innings total. Some good bowling pushed the result into the super-over, where the ‘Men in Green’ couldn’t hold their nerve and found themselves on the wrong side of the line.
‘We will not be discussing this matter further on social media’- Azhar Mahmood
The Pakistan coach Azhar Mahmood has spoken how making false accusations about players and the management just because of an increase in the followers in getting beyond the boundary.
In their second game at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, Pakistan came up with some excellent bowling performances over the arch-rivals India, as the target of 120 was getting gettable, even with one decent partnership among their batters, but they needed to be little careful.
At one position, the 2009 champions were ahead in the game, with 48 runs being required in 48 balls, with eight wickets in hand, and once they lost a set Mohammad Rizwan in the middle, the channel of wickets losing got opened up, and the rest of the batting line-up just fell likes a pack of cards.
The Babar Azam and co. fell short by six runs and almost got knocked out of the T20 World Cup 2024, before the ‘super eight’ stage. They aimed to win big against Canada, but they missed the trick again. Once the USA and Ireland game was washed out, Pakistan were knocked out of the competition.
Meanwhile, a few reports have suggested that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is paying for the trips of the players, and their families and support staff, which allegations have been erased by Azahar Mahmood. He stretched on about taking legal action on those who are responsible for such comments.
‘I have heard some false allegations and narratives circulating on social media and other media platforms.’ Azhar Mahmood wrote in his ‘X’ handle, formerly known as ‘Twitter’. ‘I categorically state that these allegations are entirely baseless and false, and it is extremely upsetting to hear them.
The former all-rounder of the national team feels that the culture of accusing anyone and making wrong statements is getting ‘ridiculous’ and should be stopped.
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‘This culture of falsely accusing and misleading people to believe a false narrative is now getting ridiculous and dangerous.’ The 49-year-old Azhar Mahmood expressed in the same note. ‘Speaking without evidence and misconstruing facts is a criminal offense, and those engaging in such behavior will be dealt with through legal action.’
He also urged to stop these, only to get engagement and entertainment, besides pursuing legal advice.
Pursuing an increase in followers and media attention by spreading falsehoods is downright unacceptable. I will be pursuing legal advice against those responsible for making these false allegations towards me and my family, and strict action will be taken accordingly.’ The Rawalpindi-born Azhar Mahmood concluded. ‘We will not be discussing this matter further on social media. I urge everyone to avoid engaging with or entertaining these harmful narratives as it is essential to put an end to such behavior in our media culture.’