LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has issued a stern warning to central contract players against breaching their contractual obligations, particularly on social media behaviour, sources said. Jio News On Tuesday.
According to the board’s directives, centrally contracted cricketers will not be allowed to post on social media without prior permission from PCB’s media department.
Players are expressly reminded to abide by the rules set forth in their federal contracts, including the board’s social media policy.
Also, players’ managers have also been reminded of relevant social media guidelines. The Board has made it clear that political positions will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
Sources indicate that central treaty players must now exercise extreme caution in their public communications. Any player posting controversial content will face a fine of not less than PKR 10 million.
The move comes after the PCB recently imposed a Rs 20 million fine on national pacer Naseem Shah.
The 23-year-old fast bowler was punished for his controversial tweet about Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.
The PCB found that Naseem violated several clauses of his central contract and the board’s social media guidelines following a private inquiry before a three-member disciplinary panel.
Despite an unconditional apology and the sacking of his social media consultant – who was blacklisted by the team from working with any other national player – Naseem was fined a substantial amount.
The incident unfolded during the opening ceremony of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 11 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, where the Chief Minister was the guest of honour.
PCB President Mohsin Naqvi welcomed Ms Nawaz and introduced her to the owners and players.
Shortly after, a post from Naseem Shah’s X account (formerly Twitter) quoted a PCB media post showing Chairman Naqvi congratulating Ms Nawaz.
A since-deleted message: “Why is she being treated (sic) like a queen at the Lords?” The comment sparked widespread debate on social media.
In response, the right-arm pacer claimed that his account had been hacked.
“This account of Naseem was recently hacked but has now been successfully recovered,” he wrote, stressing that the post was not a personal statement but the result of a security breach.