T20 World Cup Controversy: Pakistan's Salman Mirza denies 'misbehaviour’, sends legal notice to journalist

Pakistan fast bowler Salman Mirza has taken legal action after reports claimed he misbehaved with a woman during the T20 World Cup 2026 in Sri Lanka. The pacer sent a legal notice to a Pakistani news outlet and a journalist, calling the allegations “false, malicious, and highly defamatory.”

The reports alleged that the incident took place at a hotel in Kandy before Pakistan’s final Super 8 match against Sri Lanka.



According to those reports, a female housekeeping staff member raised an alarm, which led hotel staff to intervene, and the matter was later communicated to Pakistan’s media manager.

Mirza has strongly denied the claims and publicly criticised the report, saying it was irresponsible to broadcast unverified information.

Addressing the issue on Instagram, he wrote: “An absurd news is circulating in the media and I strongly condemn this sort of cheap journalism. Any media house can’t air any unverified news [sic].”

In the same post, Mirza named the journalist and the news channel and confirmed he would pursue legal action.

“#PakistanCricketBoard has already denied this baseless and fake news, and I’m going to take legal action against #ShahidHashmi (journalist) who works for ARY News. This sort of filthy reporting must be banned and #GovernmentofPakistan must take action against such people!” he added.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also rejected the allegations and backed the player. The board demanded a public apology from the reporter and warned that it would take action if the issue was not addressed.

“Agenda-driven fake news targeting the character of our players is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The reporter must publicly apologise without delay; failing which, the PCB will take all necessary steps to tackle such malicious content firmly and nip it in the bud.”