LAHORE: Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah has clarified the circumstances surrounding the controversial post on Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz from his official social media account.
The incident took place during the opening match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 11 at Gaddafi Stadium.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz was the chief guest at the match between defending champions Lahore Qalandars and Hyderabad Kingsmen.
During the event, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi welcomed Ms Nawaz and introduced her to the participating franchises.
He congratulated all the competing teams. The Chief Minister introduced the players from both sides in front of the curtain.
After a while, a post from Naseem Shah’s ‘X’ account (formerly Twitter) attracted significant attention. The re-tweet was a quote from a PCB media post showing Chairman Naqvi congratulating Ms Nawaz.
In the now-deleted message: “Why is she treated like a queen at Lord’s?”
The comment quickly sparked widespread engagement across social media, generating lively debate and differing opinions among fans and the cricket community.
Addressing the controversy, the right-arm fast bowler moved to assure his followers that the post was not intentional. In a new statement, Naseem explained that his account had been compromised.
“This account of Naseem was recently hacked but has now been successfully restored,” he wrote, clarifying that the issue was the result of a security breach rather than a personal statement by the player.
Notably, three-time champions Lahore Qalandars began their title defense with a 69-run win over Hyderabad Kingsmen in the tournament opener.
Batting first, Gilandar scored 199 for 6 in 20 overs thanks to a half-century from left-arm opener Fakhar Zaman.
Faqar scored 53 runs off 39 balls with 10 fours.
He was well supported by fellow opener Mohammad Naeem, who scored a 19-ball 30, while Hasibullah Khan and Sikandar Raza provided a strong finish at the back.
The wicketkeeper-batsman remained unbeaten on 40 off 28 balls, while Raza scored 24 off 10 balls.
In reply, the Kingsmen were bowled out for 130 in 20 overs, supported by the spin of pacers Haris Rauf, Ubaid Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Mustafizur Rahman and Sikandar Raza.
comments