Shoaib Akhtar, the former Pakistan speedster, quit live on air after facing “rude and obnoxious” behaviour during a show. In a post-match show, after Pakistan’s win over New Zealand, Shoaib Akhtar and the show’s host, Dr. Nauman Niaz, were involved in a verbal spat while discussing the impact of Lahore Qalandars’ Player Development Program (PDP) on pacers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf’s performance.
Shoaib Akhtar said he had been treated badly and insulted on air by the host in the post-match show following Pakistan’s five-wicket win over New Zealand in the ongoing T20I World Cup 2021. The Rawalpindi Express was on the show discussing the Babar Azam-led team’s performance in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup along with cricketing greats such as West Indies’ Vivian Richards and England’s David Gower.
Shoaib Akhtar Interrupted And Offered To Leave Show Midway For Being Rude
While the panel was discussing the performance of pace bowlers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf, Shoaib Akhtar was interrupted by Nauman Niaz. A visibly upset former Pakistan pacer expressed his displeasure, and the host offered him to leave the show midway if he wanted to.
“You’re being a little rude and I don’t want to say this: but if you’re being over smart, you can go. I am saying this on air,” Niaz told Akhtar and immediately switched to a commercial break.
A sensational bowling performance by Haris Rauf (4/22) helped Pakistan restrict New Zealand to 134/8 a few days after teammate Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul off his first seven deliveries and finished with 3-31 after dismissing India’s top scorer, skipper Virat Kohli for 57 in a total of 151-7 in 20 overs.
Pakistan’s Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Mohammad Rizwan have improved their T20I rankings after remarkable performances in World Cup matches against India and New Zealand.
Shoaib Akhtar Left The Show Midway As He Resigned From PTV
Shoaib Akhtar and Nauman Niaz remained on air after the break, but the former eventually decided to leave the show after apologizing to the other guests, which included cricket greats like Sir Viv Richards and David Gower.
“A lot of apologies guys, a lot of apologies. I am resigning from PTV. The way I have been treated on national TV, I don’t think I should be sitting here right now. So, I am resigning. Thank you very much,” said Akhtar before leaving the set.
The problem began apparently when Shoaib Akhtar ignored the line of questioning by the host and decided to talk about pacer Haris Rauf and chose to lavish praise on the Pakistan Super League franchise Lahore Qalandars and its coach, Aaqib Javed, for discovering Haris Rauf and supporting him properly.
Later, Shoaib Akhtar explained the incident on his official Twitter account through a brief video and a couple of tweets. Later, giving his side of the story, Shoaib Akhtar tweeted and posted a video, saying that Nauman Niaz had been “obnoxious” and that he was quitting the show.