Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan has voiced his concerns over the hefty punishment given to fast bowler Naseem Shah by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), saying that the fine for his social media post about a political figure is too harsh and could negatively affect players and the sport.
Why PCB fined Naseem Shah?
Shah was penalised by the PCB’s disciplinary committee after posting sarcastic comments on Twitter about Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. The incident occurred during her visit to Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on March 27, which coincided with the opening match of the Pakistan Super League. The post quickly sparked controversy.
Younis Khan on PCB's action vs Naseem Shah
The PCB moved quickly, completing their assessment in just three days and imposing a 20 million rupee fine on Shah for violating the players’ code of conduct.
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Younis Khan believes the punishment is excessive and could have been handled differently.
“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.
He also warned that penalties of this magnitude can hurt cricketers instead of helping them.
“The board should be taking care of its players."
Younis added that if the PCB wants to treat such matters so seriously, the same standard should be applied to selectors and board officials whenever they make misleading statements or fail in their duties. He urged the PCB to reconsider its decision, noting that Shah had already shown regret over the incident.
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What are PCB's new guidelines?
Following Shah’s tweet, the PCB has issued updated guidelines to all centrally contracted and domestically contracted cricketers. Players and their social media managers must now get prior approval from the board before posting anything online, and posts with political messages are strictly prohibited.
The board has also made it clear that any political content on social media could now lead to a 10 million rupee fine.