David Gower takes side with Dr Nauman on Shoaib Akhtar episode

By: News Desk
Published: 12:27 PM, 28 Oct, 2021
Dr Nouman Niaz with David Gower
Caption: David Gower with Dr Nauman.
Stay tuned with 24 News HD Android App
Get it on Google Play

David Gower, English commentator and former skipper of the England cricket team, took side with Dr  Nauman Niaz in the Nauman-Shoaib episode that was still one of the top trends on social networking website Twitter.

Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhtar left the PTV Sports show after the host and Director Dr Nauman asked him to leave following he lost his ‘cool’.

In the same show, David Gower who was sitting right to the host said that he had never seen such an event on TV. “Our team is down by one but we still have a very fine team and I am looking forward to the best.”   

Later he tweeted, “Delighted to be in Pakistan and enjoying the chats with the good doctor and the panel in the PTV studio.”

Pertinent to note that David Gower is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who was captain of the England cricket team during the 1980s.

The left-handed batsman of his era, Gower played 117 Test matches and 114 One Day Internationals scoring 8,231 and 3,170 runs.

Former Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar, also known as the Rawalpindi Express for his sheer fast bowling, was embroiled in a controversy when he walked out of a TV programme and resigned from his job as cricket analyst after being told to leave the set by the host of the show at state-owned PTV Sports.

Also Read: Shoaib Akhtar quits PTV Sports and walks out after being 'insulted on live TV'

Shoaib Akhtar, 46, said he had been insulted on air by the host in the post-match show following Pakistan’s five-wicket win over New Zealand in the ongoing T20 World Cup on Tuesday. 

Shoaib Akhtar, who played 46 Tests and 163 ODIs, got up, took off his microphone and left. Host Nauman Niaz didn’t attempt to call him back and showed no reaction at all and carried on with the show as normal.

But the other guests on the show including greats like Sir Vivian Richards, David Gower, Rashid Latif, Umar Gul, Aaqib Javed and Pakistan women’s team captain Sana Mir were clearly shaken by the incident.

PTV formed a committee to probe the matter.