ICC 'sanctions' Babar Azam and Co. after Pakistan's heartbreaking loss to South Africa at World Cup
Babar Azam's Pakistan side was sanctioned following their ICC World Cup loss against South Africa.
Babar Azam's Pakistan side is on the verge of a premature exit from the ICC World Cup 2023 following their defeat to South Africa on Friday. The runners-up in the 2022 edition of the T20 World Cup suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Proteas in match No.26 of the One Day International (ODI) World Cup at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. As per the latest developments, the Green Army has received a significant setback from the International Cricket Council (ICC) following a one-wicket trounce at the hands of the Proteas.
The global governing body of cricket has penalised Pakistan for a slow over-rate against South Africa at the ODI World Cup. The 1992 world champions have been fined 20 per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate in the World Cup match against South Africa at Chepauk. After time allowances were taken into consideration, Babar and Co. were declared to be four overs short of the target.
Babar pleaded guilty
Thus, Richie Richardson of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees opted to impose a sanction for a slow over rate. According to the ICC, there was no need for a formal hearing as Pakistan captain Babar pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction. Charges were levelled by On-field umpires Alex Wharf and Paul Reiffel, third umpire Richard Illingworth and fourth umpire Richard Kettleborough.
Pakistan players have not received salaries for 5 months?
Earlier, former Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif claimed that Babar and Co. have not received their salaries. "I know for a fact that Babar has got no response from the Chairman (Zaka Ashraf) when he called and messaged from India," Latif said. “The players have not got salaries… the Chairman is not responding to the captain and in these circumstances what do we expect from the team,” he added.
What's next for Pakistan
Babar's Pakistan side is yet to win a single World Cup game since losing to arch-rivals India at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The former world champions have won only two games from six matches at the India World Cup. The Green Army will need to win their remaining three matches to have an outside chance of making it to the semi-finals of the World Cup. Pakistan will next meet Bangladesh in its must-win encounter at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday.
