Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins has denied that he contacted Babar Azam in an attempt to convince him to play in the Sheffield Shield and for one of the Melbourne teams in the BBL.

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Reports were rife that the former Pakistan skipper had been contacted by Cricket Victoria in Australia and was offered a contract to play domestic cricket and in the BBL in a long-term deal. The reports stated that Babar was keen to take up the deal and would make himself available according to Pakistan’s international calendar. They also stated that he was offered to open in the BBL for either Melbourne Stars or Melbourne Renegades, the two teams run by Cricket Victoria.

The CEO of Cricket Victoria Nick Cummins has now denied the story, saying there was “absolutely zero truth” to them. Commenting on a post that mentioned Victoria’s supposed interest in Babar on X (formerly Twitter), Cummins wrote, “Fake news” and mentioned that Babar would have to go through the draft to play in the BBL and he could be picked by any of club, as a result.

“Wait until they find out about Kohli signing with the Stars,” Cummins joked in a later post.

 

The first report of Babar being offered a contract came out on Thursday, where it stated that Cricket Victoria was looking at a long-term deal with the former skipper of Pakistan.

Babar has never played in the Sheffield Shield previously. He played for Somerset in county cricket between 2019 and 2020.

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Babar AzamPakistanGlobal T20 LeaguesInternational CricketPakistan cricket news