PCB issues show-cause notice to Naseem Shah over Maryam Nawaz tweet

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has issued a show-cause notice to pacer Naseem Shah for "violating the terms of his central contract" following a post on his X account, which appeared to be a sly dig at the Chief Minister of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, and was subsequently deleted.

The now-deleted post looked like an aim at Nawaz, who was one of several other dignitaries present for the curtain raiser of PSL 11, which was played between Lahore Qalandars and Hyderabad Kingsmen at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on March 26.

Nawaz is an influential figure and belongs to a family with a deeply rooted political history. She is the daughter of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the niece of the incumbent Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. She arrived at the Gaddafi Stadium in tamper-proof security and also met with members and support staff of both teams.

The PCB media account on X posted about Nawaz's arrival at the ground and it was quote-tweeted by Naseem's account, adding, "Why is she treated like the Queen at Lord's?" The post was removed immediately and was replaced with another post that read, "This account of Naseem was recently hacked but now recovered successfully."

However, the PCB is not pleased with Naseem and has issued a statement, saying that he has breached the media policy regulations and the terms of his central contract, too. The PCB is yet to open about the specific clause that appears to be violated by Naseem.

Meanwhile, Naseem is likely to be seen in action when Pindiz square off against Peshawar Zalmi on March 28. He represented Lahore Region Whites in the recently concluded National T20 Cup.

Naseem didn't enjoy much support during the course of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. He largely warmed the bench during Pakistan's campaign, playing a solitary encounter against Sri Lanka, which also happened to be the end of their campaign.