Dr Nuaman Niaz apologises to Shoaib Akhtar, finally

ISLAMABAD: PTV Sports anchor Dr Nauman Niaz has finally apologised to cricket star Shoaib Akhtar over his conduct during a live TV show.

The apology came during a YouTube show of journalist Rauf Klasra on Thursday, where the PTV broadcaster admitted that he was wrong.

The incident on the state-owned TV channel last month had sparked anger among cricket fans and PM Imran Khan took notice of it. The PTV host had told the cricket star to leave the show in the presence of cricket legends like Sir Viv Richards and David Gower.

Speaking on the issue, Dr Nauman Niaz said that the reaction to what he did on-air was justified and “I apologised thousands of times over my conduct.”

“Whatever the reason, I had no right to do all this on-air, it was my fault. Shoaib Akhtar is a star and I love his cricket,” Niaz said.

Niaz shared that after the programme, his father said that he did not expect this [behaviour] from him [Niaz] and that it was a mistake.

Accepting his mistake, Niaz admitted he should have handled the situation better as Akhtar was the star on the show and he [Niaz] was only the host.

“It shouldn’t have happened. I’m ready to pay the price and am paying.”

Earlier, speaking on Geo News programme Jashn-e-Cricket, Akhtar said he had forgiven Dr Niaz for the sake of the country and state institutions.

Akhtar had said he kept waiting for Niaz to apologise, but he did not, compelling him to leave the show.