Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan is upset that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) fined fast bowler Naseem Shah a hefty sum for allegedly criticizing a political figure on social media. He claims that such behavior is detrimental to both the players and the game.
Following a post on his social media account in which he made some caustic remarks about Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, who had visited the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore on March 27 during the opening match of the Pakistan Super League, Shah was reprimanded and fined by the PCB’s disciplinary committee.
In just three days, the board’s committee rendered a decision that fined Shah a hefty 20 million Pakistani rupees (about $71,698) for violating the players’ code of conduct.
According to Younis, the fine was disproportionate and preventable.
“Once Naseem (Shah) had apologised for the tweet and also made it clear his social media manager was behind it and he had fired him, now the board could have let Naseem off with a warning and much lesser fine,” Younis said.
Such acts simply serve to demoralize players, he claimed.
“The board should be taking care of its players.”
Younis stated that if everything is taken so seriously, then even board officials and selectors should be penalized for making false claims or performing their tasks poorly. Since Shah had shown regret for the incident, he urged the PCB to re-evaluate its ruling.
Following Shah’s X post, the PCB issued new guidelines for all of its domestic and centrally contracted players, stating that no posts of a political nature would be accepted and that they or their social media managers must first obtain board approval before posting anything on social media.
Any political posts could result in a fine of 10 million rupees, according to the board.
