The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) rubbished all rumours regarding Pakistani players violating the curfew, the day before the India Pakistan ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 clash, on Sunday.
As quoted by the Dawn a PCB spokesperson said, "The cricketers did not violate their curfew."
"The videos and photographs that went viral (on social media) are from two days before the match. The day before the match against India, all the players were in their hotel rooms by curfew time," the spokesperson said.
The Pakistan cricket fans were shocked after their humiliating defeat at the hands of India. As they were looking for reasons for this loss, some videos and images surfaced on social media and they went viral. A video showed Pakistani all-rounder Shoaib Malik along with his wife and Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and other Pakistani cricketers Wahab Riaz and Imam-ul Haq enjoying shisha and having burgers and pizzas at a lounge in Manchester and claimed to have been shot on the eve of the mega-clash. Another two images surfaced on social media had Sarfaraz Ahmed and other players having burgers and sugary shakes on the eve of the match.
Shoaib Malik of the #pakistancricketteam at midnight, hours before the most crucial match of the #CricketWorldCup2019 In Curry Mile In a Shisha cafe. Add the burgers and deserts, no wonder they performed dismally at Old Trafford. They should be ashamed. Every single one of them. pic.twitter.com/Dr8gHWdF9M
— Mohammed Shafiq (@mshafiquk) June 16, 2019
Mash'Allah boys were preparing hard for #PakvsInd match by eating burgers & sugary shakes of archies. #CWC19 #IndiaVsPakistan pic.twitter.com/KZ5UUTCbTO — Syed Usman Shah (@Warpeds0ul) June 16, 2019
These videos and images were very much condemned by netizens as they stated that the Pakistani cricketers should have taken the match seriously and needed to follow the fitness regime like the Indian cricketers. Especially, the furious Pakistani fans started to criticise Shoaib Malik as he is a senior in the team. Malik later clarified that it was on June 13, all the pictures and images were taken on that day and expressed his grievances for the Pakistani media as they were spreading such stories of the players.
When will Pak media be accountable for their credibility by our courts?!
Having served my country for +20 years in Intl Cricket, it's sad that I have to clarify things related to my personal life. The videos are from 13th June and not 15th
Details : https://t.co/Uky8LbgPHJ
— Shoaib Malik (@realshoaibmalik) June 17, 2019
India defeated arch-rival Pakistan by 89 runs (DLS method) in a rain-hit encounter in Manchester. The most awaited match became a one-sided affair as the Indian team did not let Pakistan get into the game. Indian opener Rohit Sharma scored yet another ton in the tournament. He scored 140 runs and was supported by Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. India have now won three matches out of four and are ranked third in the table whereas Pakistan is struggling at the bottom of the table winning only one out of five matches they have played.
