Shoaib Akhtar, the former Pakistan bowler, caused a stir when he walked out of a TV show and resigned from his job as a cricket analyst when the host of the show at state-owned PTV instructed him to leave the set.
Following Pakistan’s five-wicket win over New Zealand in the present T20 World Cup on Tuesday, Akhtar said the host had treated him unfairly and humiliated him on air during the post-match show.
The incident visibly shook the other guests on the show, including stars such as Sir Vivian Richards, David Gower, Umar Gul, Rashid Latif, Aaqib Javed, and Pakistan women’s team captain Sana Mir.
The difficulty began when Akhtar appeared to disregard the host’s line of questioning and instead chose to chat about bowler Haris Rauf, lavishing praise on the Pakistan Super League’s Lahore Qalandars and their coach, Aaqib, for identifying Haris and properly supporting him.
The host, evidently irritated by Akhtar’s attempt to undermine him, warned Shoaib that he had been misbehaving with him and that he would not accept it, and that it would be best if he left the show and went for a commercial break in such circumstances.
“I am informing you that you can leave the show immediately because you have misbehaved with me,” the host added.
When the programme restarted after the break, there was further drama when Akhtar stated that he wanted to end the uncomfortable episode but sought an apology from the host, who refused to budge and began discussing the match.
After apologising to his colleagues experts on the show, Akhtar announced his resignation from PTV Sports a few minutes later.
“Please accept my apologies, but I am retiring from PTV Sports immediately.”
