'If you want to meet someone, inform us 24 hours in advance' - PCB tightens hotel security after Shaheen-Raza incident

The Pakistan Cricket Board has sent out a fresh notification to all the franchises taking part in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026, issuing stricter directives to tighten the security protocols at all team hotels. According to the new notification, only close family members of cricketers and support staff will be allowed inside hotel rooms, needing a strict twenty-four-hour notice prior to their arrival.

The stricter guidelines have been issued following the infamous incident involving Sikandar Raza and Shaheen Shah Afridi, where the former took a few unauthorised individuals into his hotel room, with Shaheen helping them reach the room, which led to a breach of security. In a bid to avoid such breaches in future, PCB has imposed stricter measures that are aimed at maintaining standards and discipline in PSL.

“Further to the guidelines outlined in the Operations Manual, this is to reiterate the policy regarding visits by family members and external guests at team hotels,” PCB informed PSL franchises as quoted by Express Tribune.

The Raza-Shaheen incident occurred a day ahead of the team's opening match against the Karachi Kings, where the Qalandars lost the match by a 19-run margin. Raza informed the media that it was completely his fault, and both he and Shaheen had little or no idea regarding the move leading to a breach of security protocol.

"My friends and family had come, and at my request, Shaheen helped them [come up to my room]. If these were the SOPs, I wasn’t aware, and to some extent, Shaheen was not aware either. The culprit here is me, not Shaheen. He went down on my request because it was my close family and friends; I did not want to meet them in the business centre. We sat upstairs for 40 minutes," Raza had said, as per ESPNcricinfo.

"Please do not forget that my family and relatives live here, and I do not get to see them all year," he had told further.

The Qalandars will play their next game of PSL 2026 on Friday, April 03 against the Multan Sultans. The game will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium.