KARACHI: National fast bowler Naseem Shah, who was fined Rs20 million by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for his controversial tweet about Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, on Monday issued a public apology.
Taking to X, formerly of Twitter, the 23-year-old insisted the post in question was made by her management and did not reflect her personal views, but confirmed she takes “full responsibility” for her social media platform.
Before issuing a public apology to all those affected by the post from his X handle, he further confirmed that he had implemented “necessary changes” to ensure such a thing never happens again.
“The latest post from my account was made by my management team and does not reflect my views,” Naseem said.
“I take full responsibility for my site and have implemented the necessary changes to ensure this does not happen again.
“I apologize to anyone who has been harmed by the misuse of my site.”
Naseem’s statement comes hours after the PCB announced that the pacer had violated various clauses of the PCB Central Agreement and social media guidelines after a private inquiry by a three-member disciplinary panel earlier today.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced the results of Disciplinary Committee proceedings against Naseem Shah for violating various clauses of his central contract and the PCB social media guidelines,” the cricket board said in a statement.
“The PCB issued a show cause notice dated 27 March 2026 outlining the violations and sought a response from Naseem.
“After receiving and reviewing Naseem Shah’s reply, a personal inquiry was conducted by a three-member disciplinary committee on 30 March 2025.”
As a result, the 23-year-old fast bowler was fined Rs20 million despite firing his social media adviser and was blacklisted by the cricket board from interacting with other national players under its jurisdiction.
“Noting that an unconditional apology has been tendered, Naseem has been found to have violated various clauses of his central contract and has been fined PKR 2 crore,” a PCB statement said.
“It is to be noted that Naseem Shah’s social media advisor has already been sacked by Naseem and will be blacklisted by the PCB from associating with any player under PCB’s jurisdiction.
“The PCB is committed to upholding professional standards, contractual obligations and the integrity of the game.”
Controversy arose after Chief Minister Punjab attended the opening ceremony of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Thursday.
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.
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 pacer explained that his account had been hacked and moved to assure his followers that the post was not intentional.
“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.
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