Dr Nauman Niaz apologises to Shoaib Akhtar, fans for rude behaviour

After strong backlash from cricket fans, PTV Sports host Dr Nauman Niaz apologised to cricketer turned analyst Shoaib Akhtar for his rude behaviour with him during a live transmission.

While talking to journalist Rauf Klasara, Dr Niaz said that people have “confused” a lot of things amid the controversy.

“Firstly, I will say my outburst on air and the repercussion that has come is right. How can I not admit it. I had no right, irrespective it was a minor aberration, but doing this on air [was not right],”Dr Niaz told Klasra.

“To err is human and this should have not happened. For that I can apolgise, not only once, [but] a million times,” said the host. He added that he has loved Shoaib Akhtar’s cricket and what happened on camera was “unbecoming of a host”.

PTV Sports Anchor Nauman Niaz breaks silence over on air fight with Superstar #ShoaibAkhtar and first time reveals old secrets as what went wrong between two old friends of last 30 years.
“I knew Shoaib since when no one knew him”.
👇https://t.co/y35rDJAs5w #Video #Vimeo pic.twitter.com/vR6T7RREtW

— Rauf Klasra (@KlasraRauf) November 5, 2021

When Klasra pressed him why he didn’t apologise to the former fast bowler when it was agreed during the break.

“What happened then was spur of moment and after that I was thinking what did I do this was hosting,” said Dr Niaz. I have no ego this was a wrong thing that happened it was my mistake should not have happened on air, he reiterated.

“I was the host, I should have handled it [and] it should not have happened in presence of international stars. I’m ready to face the consequences even though people have gone below the belt,” said the host.

Shoaib Akhtar resigns from PTV after Nauman Niaz ‘snubs’ him on-air

Last month, Pakistan’s legendary fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar resigned during live transmission from PTV following an exchange of words in the sports show Game On Hai with the host Dr Nauman Niaz.

Akhtar was a part of the eight-member expert panel along with Sir Vivian Richards, David Gower, Sana Mir and other analysts.

The unpleasant situation emerged when the panellists were analysing Pakistan team’s performance in their face-off against New Zealand in the 2021 World Cup, which they won by five wickets after a hard-fought contest.

The video clips from the particular segment started doing rounds on social media, while people expressed anger towards Dr Niaz for disrespecting a national hero on live television.

It all started when Akhtar accredited Pakistan Super League franchise Lahore Qalandars for Harris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi’s discovery.

After an apparent miscommunication regarding which player the former fast bowler was talking about, Dr Niaz got triggered and said, “You are being a little rude so I don’t want to say this but if you’re being over-smart then you can go. I am saying this on air.”

Dr Niaz then tried to change the topic and diverted his attention to Mir, but the Rawalpindi Express intervened; however, the host went on to take a break.

Later on, when the show resumed, Akhtar and Dr Niaz tried to reconcile the situation by calling it a pre-planned stunt. However, according to the fastest bowler, he had asked the host to apologise to him, but he refused and eventually Akhtar resigned from the channel on live TV.

“Lot of apologies guys, I am resigning from PTV and the way I have been treated on the national TV, I don’t think I should be sitting here,” he said before taking off his microphone and walking out.

Later in the night, Akhtar released a video to explain the whole situation, where he stated Dr Niaz was being ‘obnoxious’ and only asked him to leave for no reason.

“He sidelined me after abruptly insulting me — a national star — on national TV and then went on break. I realised that superstars and foreigners are sitting and what image would be delivered so I asked Nauman to end the matter otherwise what you’ve done with me will go viral and there will be no solution to that.”

The 46-year-old ex-pacer said he asked the host to apologise to him but he didn’t which obligated him to leave the show. “I tried my level best to repair the damage [in] the programme,” Akhtar added.