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Shoaib Akhtar receives 13 match ban

Shoaib Akhtar gestures at the Gaddafi Cricket Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan, on Thursday. The Pakistan Cricket Board banned fast bowler Akhtar for 13 international matches for hitting a teammate with a bat, among other misdemeanors. PHOTO: AFP

Pakistan banned paceman Shoaib Akhtar on Thursday for 13 international matches and fined him 3.4 million rupees (US$56,000) for hitting a teammate with a bat and other offenses.

Akhtar faced five indiscipline charges, including that he struck fellow fast bowler Mohammad Asif on the thigh after team practice in Johannesburg ahead of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup last month.

The ban, which dates back to matches that the "Rawalpindi Express" missed last month, is the biggest ever imposed on a cricketer at international level, barring previous life bans imposed for match-fixing.

"He has been banned for 13 international matches consecutively -- it will start from the first Twenty20 match in South Africa" last month, the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi said.

The 32-year-old will be on probation for two years and will face a life ban in the event of further disciplinary breaches.

"The incident was very serious and we took the decision after a lengthy debate and hearings," Naghmi said.

The PCB said Akhtar could appeal against both the fine and the ban.

But Akhtar, who was sent home from South Africa after the incident and has missed a string of matches in the past year through injury and indiscipline, said that he would not.

"I want to end this episode here as I am training hard and look forward to playing for Pakistan and helping them win," Akhtar said after the PCB announced the punishment at a press conference in the eastern city of Lahore.

"I have already apologized to Asif, to my team, to my countrymen and to the PCB. It was like a nightmare and happened in the heat of the moment," he said.

The PCB said Akhtar was charged on three counts relating to the Asif incident: hitting a teammate with a bat, accusing teammate Shahid Afridi of involvement and holding a press conference on the incident.

He was also punished for criticizing a PCB doping tribunal that banned him last year after a positive test for steroids and for playing a charity match in England without permission in August.

The ban includes all seven matches of last month's Twenty20 tournament, the ongoing two-Test series against South Africa and four one-day matches which follow the Tests, Naghmi said.
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