Former Pakistan’s fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has ridiculed the PTV’s decision of firing him from its special transmission and said that he himself resigned in front of 220 million Pakistanis.
Since the citizens witnessed the spat between the legendary cricketer and PTV Sports host Dr. Nauman Niaz, the state-owned channel decided to take them off the air until the investigation is completed. The news somehow angered Akhtar, who in the middle of live transmission decided to quit the show.
Retweeting the PTV press release, Shoaib Akhtar took to his social media accounts to ridicule PTV’s decision, saying, “I resigned in front of 220 million Pakistanis and billions around the world. Is PTV brainwashed? Who are they to take me off air?”
The PTV also responded to Akhtar’s story and in a statement on social media said that Dr. Nauman Niaz and the former cricketer have a legal contract of employment and contract with Pakistan Television, respectively. “Cancellation is not simple, it requires a legal process of employment and contract, the termination of the contract is not possible unilaterally,” the statement added.
Moreover, Dr. Nauman’s pre-match program was not aired yesterday and after Pakistan beat Afghanistan, PTV Sports presented a post-match program hosted by England’s David Gower and female cricketer Sana Mir.
It all started on Tuesday night when the nail-biting T20 World Cup match ended after Pakistan defeated New Zealand with 5 wickets. Shoaib Akhtar and several others were present at PTV Sports to analyze the match. Things were normal until Shoaib started his analysis and out of nowhere, Dr. Nauman Niaz told Shoaib that he is being rude.
Read more: Nauman Niaz barred from hosting show following spat with Shoaib Akhtar
“I don’t want to say this but if you’re being over smart, you can go. I am saying this on-air,” this is exactly what the host told Akhtar during the live transmission. The host while interrupting Shoaib went for a break, however, after they returned on-air, Shoaib was once again asked a question by Nauman. This was when Shoaib walked out from the show, “The way I was treated on national television, I don’t think I should be sitting here. I am resigning from PTV.”
Shoaib Akhar, however, after walking out and resigning from his designation decided to clarify what actually happened. According to the former cricketer, Dr. Nauman Niaz was obnoxious and rude when he asked him to leave the show.
