Naseem Shah has been hit with what is believed to be the largest fine in Pakistan cricket history, with the PCB coming down hard on the fast bowler after a swiftly deleted tweet from his account appeared to criticise Punjab's chief minister Maryam Nawaz. Two days after the PCB sent him a show-cause notice, a statement from the PCB stated Naseem had been slapped with a PKR 20 million (approx. USD 72000).
Naseem, who has been signed by Rawalpindiz, one of the two new franchises in the PSL, appeared to take aim at Nawaz ahead of the opening game of the tournament on Friday. Last week, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi had announced the PSL would take place without spectators owing to Pakistan's need to conserve fuel due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the West Asia crisis.
However, several dignitaries were present at the first game. Nawaz, who is the daughter of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and the niece of current Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, was shown arriving at the Gaddafi Stadium and was seen meeting people at the venue including players from both teams, Lahore Qalandars and Hyderabad Kingsmen.
A recent post from my account was made by my management team and does not reflect my views.
— Naseem Shah (@iNaseemShah) March 30, 2026
I take full responsibility for my platform and have implemented the necessary changes to ensure this does not happen again.
I sincerely apologise to everyone affected by this misuse of…
Naseem's account quote-tweeted the post from the PCB media account, saying "Why is she treated like the Queen at Lord's?" Minutes later, Naseem's post was taken down and replaced with another post saying his account had been hacked, and that it had been recovered by him.
A PCB statement said a hearing was held by a three-member disciplinary committee earlier today. In the hearing, Naseem rendered an unconditional apology and sacked his social media manager. The PCB also said the manager had been blacklisted by the PCB from associating with any other player falling within the PCB's jurisdiction.
However, that appears not to have assuaged the PCB, who have come down on Naseem with a particularly large fine. The statement said Naseem was "found to have breached various clauses of his central contract", and that the PCB would remain committed to "upholding professional standards, contractual obligations and the integrity of the game".
The PCB have taken an increasingly strong position in clamping down on any political expression among its cricketers. Last year, allrounder Aamer Jamal was slapped with a fine in excess of PKR 1 million (USD 4000 approx) for displaying a slogan showing support for former prime minister and Pakistan captain Imran Khan.
Jamal turned up for a Pakistan training day during the home Test series against England in December last year with "804" written on the underside of his floppy hat. That is the prisoner number for Imran, who has been incarcerated since August 2023.
While at the time that was viewed as an excessively large fine, the penalty imposed on Naseem is more than 16 times higher than Jamal's. It is worth approximately eight months' of Naseem's central contract salary, where Naseem currently places in the 'C' category.
Naseem was the most expensive player at the PSL auction earlier this year, with Rawalpindiz purchasing his services for PKR 86.50 million (approx. USD 310,000).
