October 12, 2007	Friday	Ramazan 29, 1428

LAHORE, Oct 11: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday handed out severe punishment to controversial speedster Shoaib Akhtar for a series of disciplinary offences in recent months, imposing a ban of 13 international matches and a hefty fine of Rs 3.4 million besides deducting 9.5 points from his central contract as per the rules.

The PCB disciplinary committee, headed by the board’s Chief Operating Officer Shafqat Naghmi, announced the punishment at a crowded press conference which was also attended by Shoaib himself on Thursday.

According to the decision, Shoaib will now be eligible to play only the last of the five one-day matches in the current home series against South Africa, scheduled to be held in Karachi on Oct 29.

Since PCB’s central contract considers all forms of the game as international matches - including the Twenty20, Test and the ODIs - Shoaib’s penalty will encompass the seven matches of the World Twenty-20 Championship in South Africa, the two Tests against the Proteas in Karachi and Lahore and the four ODIs against South Africa later this month. Naghmi, however, warned that Shoaib will have to pay the fine and have to prove his fitness before being considered for the last one-dayer at Karachi. The COO further specified that if Shoaib gets involved in any more acts of indiscipline at any time during the next two years, he would face a life ban.

Shoaib was charged with striking fellow fast bowler Mohammad Asif with a cricket bat in South Africa last month over a minor argument for which he was penalised for five Twenty20 matches. Under another clause, No 17, he was penalised for six more matches for tarnishing the image of the game.

Additionally, a further penalty of two more games was imposed on the maverick pacer for addressing a press conference without the permission of board soon after his arrival from South Africa. The other charge pertained to him playing a charity match for former England player Chris Lewis on Aug 8, again without the permission of the PCB.

Naghmi, commenting on the last offence, said the disciplinary committee took a lenient view since Shoaib played the charity game for a noble cause.

The COO also clarified that the Rawalpindi Express was acquitted of two other charges – that of critisiing the PCB at the press conference and issuance of controversial statements to the press.

Though the disciplinary committee allowed Shoaib Akhtar to file an appeal against the punishment, the fast bowler surprisingly showed restraint and said:” I want to close this issue here now. Therefore, I will not go for the appeal. I would also like to apologise to my colleagues and all others who were hurt due to my behaviour and now I want to play for my country and want to win matches for them.”

“I will play some first class matches of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy to prove my fitness for international cricket,” he added.

When asked about his maximum expectancy in the game, the demonic pacer said that ideally he would like to stay in the game for four more years and achieve a few milestones like 300-plus wickets in both forms of the game. “But the forthcoming tour to India could be my last trip to that country and I desire to play a key role in Pakistan’s victory,” he said.