Karachi, Apr 1 Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan is unhappy with the hefty fine imposed on fast bowler Naseem Shah by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for his reported comments against a political leader on social media, arguing that such actions are not in the best interest of the player and the game.
Shah was reprimanded and fined by the PCB's disciplinary committee after a tweet on his social media account, where he made sarcastic remarks about Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, who had visited the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore on March 27 during the opening match of the Pakistan Super League.
The board's committee reached its verdict in just three days, imposing a hefty fine of 20 million rupees on Shah for breaching the players' code of conduct.
Younis said that the fine was excessive and could have been avoided.
"Once Naseem (Shah) had apologized for the tweet and also made it clear that his social media manager was behind it and he had fired him, the board could have simply warned Naseem and imposed a much smaller fine," Younis said.
He said that such actions only serve to demoralize players.
"The board should be looking after its players."
Younis said that if things are taken so seriously, then selectors and officials of the board should also be fined when they make misleading statements or fail in their duties.
He urged the PCB to reconsider its decision, as Shah had shown remorse for the incident.
The PCB, after Shah's tweet, has issued fresh guidelines for all its centrally contracted and domestic contracted players, stating that they or their social media managers must first obtain clearance from the board before posting anything on social media, and that no posts of a political nature will be tolerated.
The board has made it clear that any political posts can lead to a fine of 10 million rupees.