Moin Khan caught up in casino controversy

Pakistan's embattled Cricket World Cup campaign has been rocked by the news chief selector Moin Khan is under investigation for allegedly visiting a casino before the side's heavy loss to West Indies on Saturday.

Pakistan currently sit bottom of Pool B after losing their opening two matches of the tournament and face a must-win game against Zimbabwe on Sunday to keep their quarter-final hopes alive.

The allegations against Moin are the latest unwanted distraction for Misbah-ul-Haq's side after a campaign that has been littered with off-field scandals and injury.

The former Test skipper was reportedly photographed at a Christchurch casino in the days leading up to the match against the Windies at Hagley Oval, which Pakistan lost by 150 runs having crumbled to a record low score of 4-1 in their run chase.

Fans in the predominantly Muslim country have reacted angrily to the allegations given gambling is forbidden under Islamic law.

"We have launched an investigation over the reports that Moin Khan visited a casino, action will be taken if the reports prove true," said the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Shehryar Khan.

"As per initial reports, Moin Khan went there to have a meal two days before the match against West Indies and a Pakistani couple photographed him and made a video.

"But we will not make anybody a scapegoat and will investigate this incident before taking any action."

The scandal comes as Shehryar confirmed he had to intervene in the lead up to the tournament when Moin and coach Waqar Younis considered dumping Misbah as captain.

"It was their opinion, but I convinced them to have Misbah as captain because it is not a suitable time for change in captaincy just before the World Cup," Shehryar said.

Pakistan's hopes of winning the World Cup for the second time suffered a major setback back in September when star spinner Saeed Ajmal was banned for an illegal bowling action.

The off-spinner was cleared to return to action earlier this month, but decided not to make himself available for the tournament due to a lack of match practice.

Pakistan's problems deepened when they arrived in New Zealand for their pre-tournament matches against the Black Caps, with star fast bowler Junaid Khan sent home after he failed to recover from a leg injury.

Allrounder Mohammad Hafeez, who was picked in the squad as a batsman only after he was also banned for an illegal bowling action, joined Junaid in being sent home when he suffered a calf injury in the second ODI against New Zealand.

Pakistan then suffered the ignominy of losing their opening match of the tournament against India in Adelaide, continuing their winless run against their fierce rivals in World Cups to six matches.

The defeat to India was bad enough for some fans, but the loss to the Windies – Pakistan's heaviest in World Cup history – has sparked outrage from both supporters and former players.

Fans were photographed burning effigies of captain Misbah on the streets of Lahore, while a mock funeral for the side was held in the city of Multan.

Former fast-bowler Shoaib Akhtar was one of several ex-players to publically air his frustration, labelling Misbah a "coward" and also blasting his former teammate Waqar for his role in the team's slide.

"Misbah is the most coward and selfish captain I have ever seen in the history of Pakistan cricket," Akhtar said in an interview on Pakistan television.

"He fears to come at the No.3 position. If he has courage then why he doesn’t come in one down.

"Waqar Younis has become coach of the time for the third time but fails always.

"The world is laughing at Pakistan. Pakistan batting line-up is a complete mess up. The batsmen in the team lack talent and technique."

The PCB has also been forced to deny reports that fielding coach Grant Luden had resigned after an alleged dispute over the attitude of some players.

And eight players, including former captain Shahid Afridi and opener Ahmed Shezhad, were fined for breaching a team curfew ahead of their match against India.

Shaharyar expressed the PCB's disappointment with the team's showing so far, but urged the public and media to get behind the team as they seek to turn their fortunes around.

"The players have promised a turnaround in remaining matches and they can still qualify for the knockout stage," he said.

"Right now we are fully supporting the team. The media should also support them by not overly criticising them.

"Any inquiry would be held after the team returns home to find out what went wrong."

Pakistan will take on Zimbabwe on Sunday in Brisbane ahead of matches against the UAE, South Africa and Ireland.