‘Just think what must be going through the players mind…’ – Inzamam Ul Haq blames former PCB Chief Zaka Ashraf for ODI World Cup 2023 debacle

Former Pakistan cricketer Inzamam ul Haq has lashed out at the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Zaka Ashraf, who has recently resigned from his post. Notably, the Pakistan cricket team failed to qualify for the ODI World Cup 2023, as they have only won five matches out of nine in the league stage. Moreover, the side has lost the three matches of the Test series 0-3 against Australia, whereas they suffered defeat by 1-4 in the recently concluded T20I series against New Zealand.

However, Inzamam ul Haq slammed Zaka Ashraf for creating a bad atmosphere during the ODI World Cup 2023, which made them lose the tournament ahead of the playoffs. In addition, the 53-year-old cricketer feels Ashraf disturbed players’ mindset in the tournament by asserting false claims throughout the event.

“Can you imagine the mindset of the players when during an important event like the World Cup in India they hear that the PCB Chairman is saying the team selected was not done by the board but by the captain and chief selector only? Just think what must be going through the players mind when they hear that an inquiry committee has been formed against the chief selector and he has resigned,” Inzamam ul Haq said on a Pakistani television channel.

Pakistan was struggling in the World Cup and they needed to be given full confidence: Inzamam ul Haq

Meanwhile, Inzamam ul Haq said that Zaka Ashraf’s awful behaviour deteriorated the performance of the Pakistan team, along with Babar Azam, who resigned from the captaincy after a poor show in the ODI World Cup 2023. The Multan-born cricketer revealed that the Pakistan team was in need of confidence during the ODI World Cup 2023, but PCB didn’t provide it.

“These changes affected the performance of the team and just imagine when they can put pressure on a world-class performer like Babar Azam what would the other players be thinking. The team was struggling in the World Cup and they needed to be given full confidence but this didn’t happen. What does this mean? That the PCB had already decided in advance what they wanted to do?” he added further.