LahorePakistan’s disastrous T20 World Cup defeat in the United States has predictably sparked a backlash against the players, who have been criticised for taking their families with them, while the country’s embattled cricket board is considering invoking new defamation laws to tackle “unfounded allegations and reports”.
According to local media reports, in addition to the approximately 34 players, support staff and officials from the national team currently in the United States, about 26 to 28 family members of the players were packed into the team hotel.
These included wives, children, parents and in some cases siblings. Pakistan was eliminated in its group stage matches in New York after losing to India and debutants the United States.
According to reports, players like Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman and Muhammad Amir were travelling with their families. Babar’s father, mother and brother, who are not married, were staying at the team hotel.
“While the additional costs of having a family are naturally borne by the player, having a family reduces the player’s concentration,” another report claimed.
“Around 60 team rooms had been booked to accommodate others traveling with the team. Take-out dinners and outings were the norm for some players, creating a family atmosphere,” one report said.
Former Test wicketkeeper Atiq-uz-Zaman said he understood the need for players to take their families along on low-profile or bilateral tours, but the PCB should not have allowed such gatherings at a big event like the World Cup.
“Family members should not have been allowed at the World Cup as players need to focus solely on cricket. If family members accompany the players it takes their attention and time away from cricket,” Zaman said.
Amir brought a personal trainer to the World Cup at his own expense, even though the team had a foreign trainer, strength coach, physiotherapist and doctor. According to a report, the left-arm pacer trained separately from the other players during training, with the board’s permission.
The Pakistan Cricket Board plans to use new defamation laws enacted by the Punjab government to go after digital and mainstream media outlets that make highly personal statements about Pakistani players or imply wrongdoing during the World Cup.
A reliable source in the PCB said the board’s legal wing has already started working on possible notices under the new defamation law. “These people will be asked to prove the allegations or face action under the new defamation law,” he said.
The Punjab Assembly recently passed the Digital Media and Defamation Law Bill, which allows digital journalists and media personalities who make unfounded allegations or personal attacks against public figures, risking public backlash, to be penalized with heavy fines and imprisonment upon conviction. The law also stipulates that the sentence must be delivered within six months and cases should not be protracted. This comes after sea captain Babar Azam was accused of accepting a luxury car as a gift from a YouTuber.
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