September 12, 2007	Wednesday	Sha'aban 29, 1428

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 11: Shoaib Akhtar seems to have slipped into further trouble after Mohammad Asif, who was injured in a dressing-room altercation with the maverick pacer, rejected his version of the story about the event being accidental.

Shoaib, who was sent back from South Africa following the spat which left Asif with an injured thigh, had accused Shahid Afridi for provoking him.

“Afridi had nothing to do with the fight. The fact is that Shoaib did strike me with the bat over a little issue and got enraged for no valid reason,” Asif told a section of the national press. “He [Shoaib] has not apologised to me. In fact he should apologise first to the entire nation for what he has done.”

Narrating his version of the events, Asif said: “Afridi was trying to make Shoaib understand that he needs to change his attitude towards junior players and communicate more with them. He told Shoaib that juniors were wary of him.

“At this point I also came out of the washroom and Afridi asked to me to tell Shoaib what the junior players feel about him. I just smiled and he then hit me with the bat. It was Afridi who intervened and separated us.”

Shoaib had apologised for his actions after claiming that Afridi’s use of foul language against his family had led to him hitting Asif by accident. Afridi had denied Shoaib’s claims.

The PCB, in its initial inquiry, held Shoaib responsible and decided to send him back to Pakistan as well as placing an indefinite ban on him until the team returned from South Africa and a proper inquiry took place.—Agencies