Naseem Shah was accused by the PCB of violating the terms of his central contract after X’s deleted post appeared to criticize Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz. Maryam Nawaz, daughter of former Prime Minister Nawaz Shareef, was the guest of honor at the opening match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The newly formed team Hyderabad Kingsmen took on the defending champions Pakistan Qalandars in the opening match of PSL 2026. Before the match, Maryam was given a warm welcome by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who introduced her to the franchise owners participating in the tournament.
Watch
Naseem Shah Interview: Pakistan bowler begins to struggle with injuries and tough recovery Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah has courted controversy even before stepping on the field in PSL 2026 where he is expected to represent Rawalpindi Pindiz. The fast bowler sparked a debate on the opening day of the tournament after he posted a sarcastic remark about Maryam NawazNaseem, who has represented Pakistan in all formats and has 152 international wickets, was given a show-cause notice by the board. A statement from the PCB said the disciplinary action would be decided after hearing Naseem’s side of the story, according to ESPNCricinfo. Naseem, representing Rawalpindi Pindiz, one of the two new PSL franchises. Last week, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi announced that the tournament would be held without spectators in the stadium due to the need to conserve fuel following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the crisis in West Asia.Naseem quote-tweeted a post from PCB’s media account and said, “Why is she being treated like a queen at Lord’s?”. A few minutes later, the post was deleted and replaced with another post claiming that Pacer’s account had been hacked and eventually recovered by him. However, the PCB has now issued a statement saying that Naseem has breached both the terms of his central contract and the media policy and regulations. While the PCB did not make it clear which clause was breached, it appears to be clause 2.23 of the PCB’s code of conduct, which states that “public criticism or inappropriate comment in relation to the board, any of its officials or sponsors or politicians, the ICC or any of its officials or sponsors, players, player support staff or match officials and match officials, such as criticism of such umpire, is irrelevant” is allowed. The PCB has recently cracked down on any political speech by its players, with all-rounder Aamer Jamal fined over PKR 1 million (approximately US$4,000) for displaying a slogan supporting former Pakistan prime minister and 1992 World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan. The all-rounder turned up for training during the home Tests against England last year with “804” written on the bottom of his hat. Notably, “804” is the prisoner number for Imran, who has been in jail since August 2023, and using this number has been a popular way for Imran’s supporters to show support. Naseem Shah will be in action against Peshawar Zalmi today.
