‘Lets move on from this’ – Shoaib Akhtar accepts apology from Dr Nauman Niaz

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has finally brought an end to his spat with veteran sports anchor Dr. Nauman Niaz. Akhtar and Niaz got engaged in a verbal spat during a live show in PTV Sports after which the former decided to quit and leave. The argument apparently happened after Akhtar deviated from the question panned to him by Niaz and started speaking on some topic.

Furious by Akhtar’s approach, the sports anchor asked him to leave the show. While the former Pakistan international tried to settle down the matter by asking Niaz to apologize, the journalist didn’t do so and Akhtar subsequently left the show. With Akhtar being one of the finest fast bowlers ever, Niaz faced criticism from different corners and was even taken off air.

It was an unpleasant incident on National Television: Shoaib Akhtar

He later went onto issue a public apology to Akhtar and his fans. On Saturday (November 13), Akhtar took to Twitter and accepted the apology from the journalist. “It was an unpleasant incident on National Television and it had hurt my sentiments thats why it took me a while. Taking a higher moral ground,  i am accepting the apology of @DrNaumanNiaz. Lets move on from this,” tweeted the 45-year-old.

Meanwhile, Niaz had said that he can apologize to Akhtar a million times as his outburst wasn’t appropriate. “The repercussions of my on-air outburst are totally fair. To err is human, that should not have happened and for that, I can apologize for not only once but a million times,” Niaz told fellow journalist Rauf Klasra on YouTube.

“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,” he added. Speaking of the incident, the spat took place after Pakistan’s five-wicket triumph over New Zealand in the T20 World Cup 2021.

Speaking of the Pakistan squad, Akhtar had credited the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Lahore Qalandars franchise for discovering speedsters Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf. Niaz took issue with Akhtar’s comments 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.”

Notably, this spat took place in the presence of legends like Sir Vivian Richards, David Gower, and several other prominent stars. Hence, Akhtar felt embarrassed by Niaz’s remarks and left the show after not getting an apology.