Pakistan players in trouble as they face ‘conflict of interest’ due to their association with agent’s firm

Former Pakistan skipper and now chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, current skipper Babar Azam, wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan, and pacer Shaheen Afridi have gotten into ‘conflict of interest’ trouble. Currently, players such as Azam, Rizwan, and Afridi are playing in the ODI World Cup 2023. On the other hand, Haq became the selector of the team for the second time ahead of Asia Cup 2023.

He was the chief selector of the team from 2016 to 2019. During this period, the team won the Champions Trophy 2017. Also, the likes of Babar and Shaheen had already represented their national side. Meanwhile, ahead of their ongoing World Cup 2023, a YouTube channel claimed that all the above-mentioned individuals were managed by one player agent, Talha Aisham. Now, as reported by Cricket Pakistan, these players’ agent, Aisham owns a company in Britain named “Yazo International Limited.

Notably, the concerns around it are raised as Aisham manages players such as Azam, Rizwan, Afridi, and Haq. Apparently, there was a time in Pakistan cricket when Ha allegedly wanted the absolute powers to pass or reject players’ NOC certificates for leagues other than PSL. However, it seems that the Pakistan Cricket Board put their foot down.

Pakistan Cricket Board and its players had a fallout ahead of ODI WC 2023

Meanwhile, ahead of the ongoing tournament, the Asian side had a dispute with their board over pay. From June to September this year, the players weren’t paid by the board as they refused to sign the new contract. The players wanted a share of the money received from the Apex Council.

Apart from this, they wanted a share the YouTube and Facebook monetized videos of PCB. Haq, sharing the same agent as the top cricketers, stepped in and offered to resolve the dispute within 48 hours. Eventually, the intervention of Inzamam led to the resolution of the issue, and all player demands were met.

Category A players, including Babar Azam, Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi, saw a significant increase of 202% in their remuneration, with other players also receiving substantial raises.