Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah was fined USD 72,000 for a now-deleted controversial social media post criticising Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s presence at a Pakistan Super League (PSL) opening game during an ongoing regional crisis. Now, the Mohsin Naqvi-led Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reportedly warned centrally contracted players against posting political content on social media without prior approval from its media department.
According to a report in Geo News, players’ managers have been reminded of the social media guidelines. “Political posts will not be tolerated under any circumstances,” the report quoted sources as saying. It added that any player found posting controversial content could face a fine of at least Rs 10 million.
Naseem’s post, made during the first match of the 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL), sarcastically commented on the “queen” treatment given to Maryam, who is the daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the niece of incumbent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, at the Gaddafi Stadium. “Why is she being treated like the Queen at Lord’s?” Naseem had posted in reference to Maryam.
This came after the PCB banned fans from attending PSL matches in Lahore and Karachi to conserve fuel and adhere to government austerity measures in view of the ongoing Gulf war.
The PCB later announced that its disciplinary committee had found Naseem guilty of breaching clauses of his central contract and violating social media guidelines.
Naseem was issued a show-cause notice on March 27, immediately after Maryam visited the Gaddafi Stadium as the chief guest for the PSL opening match.
The tweet was quickly deleted, and it was claimed that the account had been hacked, but the PCB did not accept this explanation.
The board said that Naseem had issued an unconditional apology for his behaviour.
“Naseem’s reply was reviewed by the committee, and after evaluating everything, it has been determined that Naseem is found to have breached various clauses of his central contract, and a fine of PKR 2 crore has been imposed.” Naseem’s social media adviser has already been terminated and blacklisted by the PCB.