Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah on Monday faced the Pakistan Cricket Board‘s (PCB) wrath as he was slapped with a hefty fine of PKR 20 million for his recent social media post criticising the presence of a politician at the opening game of the Pakistan Super League. The 11th season of the tournament started last week behind closed doors.
As defending champion Lahore Qalandars and first-timers Hyderabad Kingsmen geared up for the opener at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium last Thursday, PSL organised a small ceremony where chief Minister of the Punjab province, Maryam Nawaz, was invited along with other dignitaries, and were introduced to officials of the eight franchises and players ahead of the start of the match.
Taking to social media, Shah, who has been signed by Rawalpindi Pindiz, one of the two new franchises in the PSL, posted on X taking a dig at Nawaz, who is the daughter of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and the niece of current Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. The pacer quote-tweeted the post from the PCB media account, saying “Why is she treated like the Queen at Lord’s?”
Although he deleted it instantly, replacing it with another post, before saying his account was hacked and recovered, screenshots of the post went viral on social media.
Shah tendered an unconditional apology after the PCB issued a notice to the fast bowler for violating the terms of his central contract as well as its media policy and regulations. He also appeared before a three-member disciplinary committee in Lahore on Monday.
The PCB said that Shah was found “to have breached various clauses of his central contract.”
“It was noted that Naseem Shah’s social media adviser has already been terminated by Naseem and shall be blacklisted by the PCB from associating with any player falling under the PCB’s jurisdiction,” the PCB said.
Last year, Pakistan all-rounder Aamer Jamal was fined $4,000 for displaying a slogan supporting cricket legend and former prime minister Imran Khan, who is currently in jail.
Meanwhile, Naseem Shah, who plays for new PSL franchise Rawalpindi Pindiz, had a tough outing, conceding 51 runs without taking a wicket in their five-wicket loss to Peshawar Zalmi.
The right-arm pacer has so far taken 152 wickets for Pakistan across formats, including 20 Tests, 34 ODIs, and 37 T20Is.
