Following Pakistan’s win over New Zealand on Tuesday night, one would think the post-match analysis would be the primary thing people were talking about but instead, the limelight was on the spat between Shoaib Akhtar and anchor Dr Nauman Niaz.
Akhtar, a legendary former fast bowler, quit and walked off a Pakistan Television (PTV) show after being “insulted” by Niaz.
The two were part of a panel for PTV Sports programme “Game On Hai” along with guests such as West Indies batting legend Sir Vivian Richards, former England captain David Gower, former Pakistan women’s captain Sana Mir and former fast bowler Umar Gul. The panel was discussing the Pakistan-New Zealand T20 World Cup match which Pakistan won by five wickets.
During a discussion on the Pakistan squad, Akhtar credited the Pakistan Super League’s Lahore Qalandars franchise for discovering Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf.
“You are being a little rude so I don’t want to say this but if you’re being over-smart then you can go. I am saying this on air.” Naiz said.
Once the show resumed after a break, Akhtar apologised to the guests on the panel and announced his resignation from PTV, saying that he could not continue with the programme because of “how I was treated on national television”.
