LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday announced a fine of Rs 20 million on national fast bowler Naseem Shah for his controversial tweet about Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.

According to the cricket board, Naseem was found to have violated various clauses of the PCB central agreement and social media guidelines after a private inquiry conducted by a three-member disciplinary panel 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 has been fined Rs 20 million despite an unconditional apology and the sacking of his social media adviser, who has been 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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