‘I could have fought and done many things’ - Shoaib Akhtar on his spat with journalist Dr Nauman Niaz

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has made another sensational statement regarding his on-air spat with seasoned sports journalist Dr Nauman Niaz. Following Pakistan’s victory over New Zealand in the T20 World Cup 2021, Nauman hosted a bunch of prominent cricketers in a live show on PTV Sports to discuss about the proceedings of the contest. Akhtar was also a part of that panel.

The discussion took an ugly turn when Niaz astonishingly asked Akhtar to leave the show after the latter tried to speak ‘off-topic.’ While the former Pakistan international demanded an apology to close the matter, the anchor didn’t do so. Annoyed by Nauman’s behavior, Akhtar announced that he’s resigning from PTV Sports and left the show midway. The anchor didn’t bother stopping him either.

Speaking on the matter, Akhtar said he would have taken actions against the veteran anchor if he wanted to. However, he decided to keep his moral ethics ahead. Also, the incident was embarrassing as prominent personalities like Sir Vivian Richards and Ian Chappell were part of the panel.

It was a matter of embarrassment: Shoaib Akhtar

“’I didn’t ask Nauman Niaz for an apology. I asked for an apology at the time of the incident so I could save the brand of Pakistan television and save the sports. It was a matter of embarrassment, Sir Viv Richards was sitting, Ian Chappell was there and there are so many fans of mine in India who would have made fun but they didn’t do it,” Akhtar was quoted as saying by Cricwick.net.

“I asked for an apology on the night the incident took place not now. I didn’t get the apology so I decided to leave. Now he has to apologize to the institution of PCB and for damaging the brand of PTV. I have closed that case and I don’t like to meddle in matters of nature. I left it to God to handle and left it to the public to decide. I could have fought and done a lot of things…and I went against my nature,” he added.

Meanwhile, Niaz has issued a public apology to Akhtar, saying the criticism for his outburst is completely fair. “I can apologize for not only once but a million times. I know I hurt the sentiments of a lot of people and that includes Shoaib Akhtar, who has been a rollicking star… regardless of the fact that it was his mistake or not,” Niaz told fellow journalist Rauf Klasra on YouTube.