Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has initiated strict legal proceedings against his former teammate Ahmed Shehzad for defamation. The legal clash began after Shehzad made controversial comments about the former Pakistan national cricket team captain on a private television channel.
Authorities have initiated action under cyber crime laws and Ahmed Shehzad has been called to Lahore for questioning. Cyber crime officials will review his explanation before deciding to file a First Information Report against the outspoken cricket analyst and YouTube personality.
Misbah-ul-Haq sends legal notice to Ahmed Shehzad on defamation claim
According to a detailed report published by ProPakistan.pk, the controversy stems from explosive allegations made by Ahmed Shehzad regarding promising wicketkeeper Hasibullah Khan.
Shahzad alleged that Peshawar Zalmi’s batting coach Misbah-ul-Haq was responsible for Hasibullah Khan not receiving his stipulated professional salary from the franchise management.
Misbah-ul-Haq challenged these financial claims as false and damaging to his reputation. The formal defamation notice from Misbah-ul-Haq’s legal team demands a public retraction and detailed explanation from Ahmed Shehzad regarding alleged controversial television statements.
“According to sources, Misbah has challenged the claims as false and damaging to his reputation. The notice is said to demand a public retraction from Ahmed Shehzad with clarification regarding the statements,” the report said.
Ahmed Shehzad’s repeated claims lead to legal action
Ahmed Shahzad made these serious allegations repeatedly on many forums. Misbah decided to take strict legal action.
A formal complaint was filed, prompting an immediate investigation under cyber crime rules to hold Ahmed Shahzad accountable for his frequent public comments.
An unnamed source close to Misbah-ul-Haq explained the reason behind the legal move. The report said that general cricket discussion is acceptable, but repeatedly making false allegations could damage professional reputation.
“There is no problem if the discussion is limited to cricket only. However, allegations damage the reputation. Even if something is not true, people start believing it by repeating it again and again. Therefore, action has become necessary.”
Ahmed Shahzad prepares legal response
Following the delivery of the defamation notice, Ahmed Shehzad is consulting his private legal team to prepare a comprehensive formal reply. Legal representatives, who are closely monitoring the situation, expect Shehzad to submit his response to Misbah’s legal team within the next few days.
This legal dispute is not the first time that Ahmed Shehzad has publicly targeted Misbah-ul-Haq. Earlier this month, Shehzad had claimed that the main reason why the selectors ignored Hasibullah Khan for the recent bilateral series against Bangladesh was Misbah’s ego.
During his international career, Ahmed Shehzad represented Pakistan in all three formats. He played 13 Test matches, 81 One Day Internationals and 59 T20 Internationals. He scored 5,058 runs in international cricket before switching to full-time broadcasting.
Shahzad played 13 Tests, scoring 982 runs at an average of 40.91 with three centuries and four fifties. In white-ball cricket, he scored 2,605 runs in 81 ODIs and 1,471 runs in 59 T20Is.
Also read: “Explore this opportunity”: Ruturaj Gaikwad shares the inside story of convincing Sanju Samson to join CSK
