The Pakistan men’s cricket team were found to be in the middle of yet another controversy even before their 2024 T20 World Cup campaign gets underway.
Ahead of the start of the tournament, Team Pakistan is claimed to have hosted a ‘private dinner’ in the United States of America, where fans were invited for a ‘meet and greet’.
The event even had an entry fee of 25 US Dollars.
Hosting such an event just ahead of Pakistan’s campaign opener against the hosts, the United States of America seems to left the former cricketers of the country agitated.
The information was shared by former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif on social media and in the video expressed his opinion on the entire episode. Besides condemning the event, he questioned who would be responsible if any mishap happened there.
Let’s Save The Star & Be StarsUnofficial Private Dinner During WC24#T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/BXEgPyA2p2— Rashid Latif | (@iRashidLatif68) June 4, 2024
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“There are official dinners, but this is a private dinner. Who can do this? It’s terrible. That means you met our players in 25 dollars. God forbid, had there been a mess, people would have said boys are earning money,” Latif said in a video, which has gone viral.
“People tell me that whoever calls the Pakistan players, they just ask, ‘how much money will you give?’ This has become common. Things were different at our time, we had 2-3 dinners but they were official. But this is highlighted because it’s the World Cup. So the players should be careful. The amount of 25 dollars shouldn’t be blatantly used like this. You attend 2-3 dinners, but without the commercial angle. You can go for charity dinners and fundraisers, but this is neither fundraising nor a charity dinner. This is a private function with the name of Pakistan and Pakistan cricket associated with it. Don’t make this mistake,” he added.
Pakistan, who lost a T20 International in Ireland and then suffered a 0-2 defeat in England this week, will open their campaign against host USA, will be high on confidence after their seven wicket win in the tournament opener against Canada, at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Thursday.
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