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Sunday, December 22, 2024  
20 Jumada Al-Akhirah 1446  

PTV takes notice of Shoaib Akhtar 'insult' on live show

Host Dr Nauman Niaz asked former fast bowler on air to leave show
In support of the former fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar is a top trend on social media where users asked Niaz to resign from the post. File photo
In support of the former fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar is a top trend on social media where users asked Niaz to resign from the post. File photo

Pakistan Television's administration has constituted a committee to investigate Tuesday's incident in which former fast bowler Shoaib Akhter was asked to leave a live TV discussion by the show's host, Dr Nauman Niaz.

In a tweet on Wednesday, the PTV said the first meeting of the panel would be held today wherein the members would investigate the situation between the two men.

In a video message widely circulated on social media, Akhtar was one of the panelists discussing the match between Pakistan and New Zealand when things got slightly heated between him and the host Niaz, who heads PTV Sports and was hosting Game on Hai.

Niaz at one point tells Akhar to leave the show, to which Akhtar said he was resigning from the panel of the show on state-run sports channel.

The other panelists of the show included Pakistan women's cricket team former captain Sana Mir, West Indies former player Viv Richards and former player of English team David Gower, former captain Rashid Latif, former bowling coach Azhar Mahmood, PSL Lahore Qalandar coach Aqib Javed and former fast bowler Umar Gul.

Describing the incident in a video message on Twitter, Akhtar said: "An unpleasant event happened today in which Niaz was being obnoxious. He asked me to leave for no reason and I don't know why."

Niaz insulted a national star on a state-run channel and sidelined him in front of international cricket stars, he said. "And then he went on break. I asked him to resolve the matter and say sorry to me on TV, but he didn't."

He added: "I tried my best to repair the damage on the TV as i wanted to resolve the matter. Being a national start I felt very bad when he insulted me on the state-run channel."

Akhtar then decided to resign from the panel as an analyst.

In a late night tweet on Wednesday, Niaz said: "I wonder why one has to be reminded Akhtar is a star. He has been the best of the best, he shall always be. He has brought laurels to the country is undeniable."

He added: "One side of the story always attracts nonetheless having been friends for ages I’ll always wish him the best."

The incident has caused outrage on Twitter with many people describing Niaz's behavior as unacceptable and the calls asking for his resignation are growing.

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Shoaib Akhtar

PTV

Nauman Niaz