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The Pakistan cricket team has been surrounded by controversies ahead of their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign. The Babar Azam-led side recently were among news for all the wrong reasons. While a few days ago in a video which went viral, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was seen body-shaming wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan during a practice session and now, it comes that the team hosted a private dinner for fans, charging them USD 25.
The Men in Green is said to have hosted a private dinner in the USA, to meet and greet their fans. However, this was a nice way to interact with fans but things turned around when it was revealed that they charged USD 25 as entry fee for the dinner, thus leaving members of the Pakistan cricketing fraternity fuming.
Among many was former Pakistan captain, Rashid Latif, who took to social media to highlight the shocking story organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Speaking a show, hosted by Kamran Muzaffar and also had Nauman Niaz, a prominent Pakistani personality, the former cricketer was left aghast by the shocking move.
“There are official dinners, but this is a private dinner. Who can do this? It’s terrible. That means you met our players in 25 dollars. God forbid, had there been a mess people would have said boys are earning money,” Latif said in the video. Here the host also added that the Pakistan cricketers cannot do such meet and greet events on national duties, while Niaz termed it “sad state of affairs”. “People tell me that whoever calls the Pakistan players, they just ask, ‘how much money will you give?’ This has become common. Things were different at our time, we had 2-3 dinners but they were official. But this is highlighted because it’s the World Cup. So players should be careful,” Latif added.
He further continued by adding, “amount of 25 dollars shouldn’t be blatantly used like this. You attend 2-3 dinners, but without the commercial angle. You can go for charity dinners and fundraisers, but this is neither fundraising nor a charity dinner. This is a private function with the name of Pakistan and Pakistan cricket associated with it. Don’t make this mistake.”
Watch Rashid Latif’s statement on Pakistan’s ‘private dinner’:
The Babar Azam-led Pakistan cricket team will open their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign against Oman in their Group A clash on June 6, Thursday at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. After this match, they will travel to New York to take on India in a high-octane clash at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, June 9.
