Wahab Riaz sues Mubasher Lucman for calling his late father ‘bookie’

Pakistan cricket team’s senior manager, Wahab Riaz, has sent a Rs500 million legal notice to journalist Mubasher Lucman for unsubstantiated allegations of match-fixing and referring to his father as a bookie.

Earlier, skipper Babar Azam sent a defamation notice of Rs1 billion to the same journalist for making false claims about him. He demanded a public apology within 14 days and threatened legal action otherwise.

Lucman alleged that Azam received expensive gifts such as an Audi E-Tron and luxury apartments abroad as bribes for intentionally losing cricket matches.

The journalist also levied accusations against Wahab Riaz and his family. He claimed that Riaz's father was a “bookie,” which refers to someone who facilitates betting, most commonly on sporting events.

“It is a crime to accuse me and my late father without any proof,” Wahab said.

Assistant coach Azhar Mehmood also criticised the journalist, calling his act of leveling such allegations for attention on social media "unacceptable."

He also sent a legal notice to Mubasher Lucman for maligning his family. Additionally, he urged everyone to refrain from “engaging with or entertaining these harmful narratives.”

Pakistan's cricket team faced intense criticism following their disappointing performance in the T20 World Cup tournament. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was also censured for biased team selection.