Basit Ali apologises for slapping former international cricketer

KARACHI: Basit Ali, coach of Sui Northern and Women's cricket team, apologised on Friday for slapping a former international cricketer Mahmood Hamid during a cricket tournament which was held a day earlier. 

Mahmood Hamid had criticised the performance of the women's cricket team. In response to that, Basit Ali had threatened Mahmood Hamid and claimed that he would deal with him when the two come face to face. 

Mahmood Hamid had told Geo News that Basit Ali slapped him while he was busying talking to someone.

Basit Ali has recently faced criticism for what his critics say poor performance of the team. Hamid called on cricket authorities to remove Ali from his post for his misbehavior and intolerance to criticism.

He also accused him of tarnishing image of Pakistan cricket. Calling the incident regrettable, Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Shahryar Khan said strict action would be taken against Basit Ali.

"PCB will not tolerate physical violence, we will launch an investigation to figure out whether the incident actually happened and then take action," he told media.