ISLAMABAD – Former pacer Shoaib Akhtar and television anchor Dr Nauman Niaz have reconciled days after of having a heated exchange during a live show on PTV Sports.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry played the mediation role between them, said PTV News in a tweet. The information minister had invited the duo to his residence for the reconciliations.
Following the settlement, Niaz publicly apologised to Akhtar in a video circulated on social media.
“Shoaib Akhtar, I am extremely sorry for whatever happened on screen. It shouldn’t have happened, for the reason since we are friends for 30 years and that shouldn’t go down,” Niaz said.
Akhtar can also be heard saying, “It’s fine. He (Niaz) said it, he said it. He should have said it a long time ago.”
Shoaib Akhter's reaction is EPIC !!
😂😂😂Dr. Nauman Niaz "apologized" to Shoaib Akhter & he (reluctantly) accepted his apology! 🙂
pic.twitter.com/J2ma5Bi7yY— Maleeha Hashmey (@MaleehaHashmey) November 13, 2021
The video ends with the PTV anchorperson saying “it’s never too late”.
Later, Akhtar confirmed his reconciliation with Dr Niaz on Twitter.
“It was an unpleasant incident on national television and it had hurt my sentiments [and] that’s why it took me a while,” he tweeted.
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.
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) November 13, 2021
“Taking a higher moral ground, I am accepting the apology of Dr Nauman Niaz. Lets move on from this,” he added.
The dispute started during a post-match analysis when Shoaib Akhtar walked off a Pakistan Television (PTV) show and stepped down from the state broadcaster after being insulted by host in front of foreign stars.
During a discussion on the Pakistan squad, ‘Rawalpindi Express’ credited Qalandars for discovering Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf.
Amid the cross talks, the host 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.”
Once the show started after the commercial, the Pakistani pacer apologized to the guests and announced his resignation from PTV, saying that he could not continue with the program because of “how I was treated on national television.
The incident soon became viral with the two individuals becoming top trends on the microblogging platform and videos of the confrontation circulating which prompted Akhtar to issue a video message to “clarify” the situation.
Shoaib Akhtar quits PTV Sports over Nauman Niaz s obnoxious behaviour (VIDEO)
