April 28, 2008	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 21, 1429

LAHORE, April 27: Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Appellate Tribunal (AT) proceedings to review fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar’s appeal against the five-year ban imposed on him for breaching the Code of Conduct by PCB’s disciplinary committee is all set to begin on Monday.

The tribunal chairman retired Justice Aftab Farrukh has said that the meeting would commence at 6.30pm on Monday as all of its legal formalities have now been met.

The panel has former Test cricketer Haseeb Ahsan and Salman Taseer as its other two members.

Shoaib, who was severely punished by the board for hitting team mate Mohammad Asif with a cricket bat besides being under a two-year probation which came with a warning to stay away from trouble during the time or else face a life ban, violated the rules once again when he issued a press statement against PCB’s poor domestic cricket arrangements.

The PCB disciplinary committee, headed by Munir Hafeez in a one-off hearing, banned Shoaib from playing cricket for five years on April 1, which was followed by PCB chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf’s forming the appellate tribunal in order to hear Shoaib’s appeal against the ban.

The tribunal held its first meeting on April 17, which was only a sort of introduction.

Both the parties are likely to present themselves before the appellate tribunal in order to defend their cases.

In the backdrop of the ban, the PCB also stopped Shoaib’s playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).