The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday lambasted fake and baseless reports claiming that Salman Mirza was penalised by the board for misbehaving with a woman at a Kandy hotel during the T20 World Cup 2026. This response came after a local channel, ARY, aired the news of the left-arm pacer being fined for harassing a woman. The PCB was quite strict in its response, saying it is exploring legal action against the said sources for running away with fake news stories.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has taken serious notice of baseless and fake tickers aired by ARY News regarding a Pakistani left-arm fast bowler. The PCB strongly condemns the broadcast of such unverified and misleading information and views this act as malicious and irresponsible,” the PCB stated in an official release.
“The PCB reserves the right to take appropriate action against those involved in spreading false news,” it added.
Earlier on Thursday, a report in Telecom Asia Sport also stated that a Pakistan player misbehaved with a woman in Kandy during the T20 World Cup; however, the publication did not name any individual. The report stated that the incident happened before Pakistan’s final Super 8s match against Sri Lanka in Pallekele.
The report further stated that the said player was also fined for this act. The female hotel staff member reportedly raised an alarm, prompting hotel employees to intervene and take control of the situation. The matter was then escalated to Pakistan team manager Naveed Cheema.
Chaos in Pakistan cricket
For the fourth ICC event in a row, Pakistan failed to reach the semi-finals. The side crashed out of the T20 World Cup 2026 after failing to defeat Sri Lanka by 65 runs. Pakistan, led by Salman Ali Agha, might have won the match but failed to advance to the next round.
According to several reports, the PCB has decided to penalise every player for the poor performance in the T20 World Cup, fining them 50 lakh Pakistani rupees each.
In the T20 World Cup, Pakistan lost to India in the group stage, while the Green Shirts faced a narrow defeat against England. The match against New Zealand was abandoned due to rain, while the side beat Sri Lanka by five runs.
Recently, Pakistan announced the ODI squad for the series against Bangladesh, and Babar Azam and Saim Ayub were shown the door, with Shaheen Shah Afridi set to lead.
