Kamal Ghorui
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday fined Naseem Shah 20 million Pakistani rupees for posting tweets that were found to be in violation of his central contract.According to ESPNcricinfo, this was the ‘the largest fine in Pakistan cricket history’.The board said its disciplinary committee held Shah guilty of breaching contract clauses and acting irresponsibly on social media. He was issued a show-cause notice on March 27, shortly after Pakistan Punjab’s chief minister Maryam Nawaz attended the opening match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.Maryam Nawaz had been invited as chief guest and was introduced to officials of the eight franchises and players before the match between Lahore Qalandars and Hyderabad Kingsmen.Shah later posted on X, “Why is she treated like the queen at Lord’s?” in reference to her presence at the venue. He deleted the post soon after and claimed that his account had been hacked.Following the notice from the PCB, Shah issued an unconditional apology and 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 board said.The development comes during a PSL season affected by wider regional issues. As part of the fallout from the conflict in Iran, spectators have not been allowed at matches, and the tournament has been reduced from six venues to two — Lahore and Karachi. Rising fuel prices have led the government to advise limited travel and work-from-home measures.Last year, Pakistan all-rounder Aamer Jamal was fined $4,000 for displaying a slogan in support of former prime minister Imran Khan.Shah is currently playing for Rawalpindi Pindiz and had figures of 0 for 51 in a five-wicket loss to Peshawar Zalmi.The right-arm fast bowler has taken 152 wickets for Pakistan across formats, including 20 Tests, 34 ODIs and 37 T20 internationals.
