Cricket Victoria Denies Contacting Babar Azam For A Possible Association, CEO Slams Fake News Regarding Pakistan Superstar

Babar Azam was rumoured to have been contacted by Cricket Victoria to play Sheffield Shield and BigBash from Melbourne Renegades or Melbourne Stars but Cricket Victoria’s CEO Nick Cummins has denied all the rumours and labelled it as ‘fake news’. Babar Azam has never played in the BBL and according to the rules, even if he wants to play the BBL, he has to go through the draft process and could be drafted in any team.

Babar Azam is currently in New Zealand with the Pakistan team for a five-match T20I series where he smashed his 31st half-century in the shortest format in the first T20I against the BlackCaps. New Zealand won the first T20I but Babar Azam was the best performer for Pakistan as he scored 57 off 35 deliveries smashing five boundaries and two maximums in the process.

It was reported by a Pakistani journalist that Cricket Victoria has contacted Babar Azam to offer him a contract to play in the Sheffield Shield and also in the Big Bash League for either Melbourne Renegades or Melbourne Stars.

However, Cricket Victoria’s CEO Nick Cummins was quick to label this news as ‘fake news’ on ‘X’. It is out of the rule for any team to approach a player and ask him to play for them without proper permission from the authorities. Any player who takes part in the BBL must have to go through the draft where he can be drafted into any given team.

Babar Azam has never participated in the BBL and if he wishes to do he will have to go through the draft. There are very few foreign players in the Sheffield Shield as Cricket Australia considers it a hub for developing players for Australia’s national cricket team, which means that the chances of Babar Azam getting a Sheffield Shield Contract are meek.

Watch- Nick Cummins Reacts To The News Of Babar Azam Getting A Sheffield Shield Contract

Fake news https://t.co/zxDKdATUPo

— Nick Cummins (@CricketVicCEO) January 12, 2024

Babar Azam has been struggling with his form for the past few months. He failed to score a single fifty-plus score in the recently concluded Test series in Australia. He also failed to smash a single century in the ODI World Cup a couple of months ago.

Babar Azam was asked to leave his captaincy position after Pakistan failed to qualify for the World Cup knockouts and since then Shaheen Shah Afridi has been leading the national team in white-ball cricket whereas Shan Masood has been leading the team in red-ball cricket.

Pakistan has not won a single match since their last victory which came against New Zealand in the ODI World Cup. They lost four consecutive matches in the World Cup before winning one against New Zealand.

The Men in Green lost the Test series against Australia by 3-0 as they were whitewashed by the Kangaroos. They lost the first T20I against New Zealand and now they will face the BlackCaps in the second T20I at Seddon Park in Hamilton on January 14