KARACHI, Dec 31: Controversial paceman Shoaib Akhtar and off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq skipped the second day of the training camp with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and team manager trying to play down their absence.

Team manager Yawar Saeed told reporters that he had allowed Shoaib to stay back in Rawalpindi so that he could spend sometime with his mother.

“Saqlain has a family engagement Monday,” Yawar said.

But the PCB officials said the arrival of the players had been delayed due to non-availability of flights from Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad and Multan.

“The players had reached Karachi in batches due to cancellation of flights or non-availability of seats,” a PCB spokesman said in a statement.

“The players consequently travelled as per the earliest available seats and any criticizm on their delayed arrival is, therefore, not valid,” the statement added.

Ironically the PCB officials were unaware that Shoaib Akhtar had not reached Karachi. Interestingly, Shoaib had returned from Australia last week after playing club cricket for five weeks.

“Mr Yawar Saeed and Shoaib Akhtar also flew to Karachi from Islamabadn Monday and Saqlain Mushtaq was due to reach Karachi from Lahore today (Monday),” the statement read.

Had the PCB shown some sense and done their homework, the training camp for the Bangladesh tour would have been staged in Karachi so that the boys scheduled was unaffected by events beyond their control.

Pakistan team, which leaves for Dhaka on Jan 2, will play two Tests and three one-day internationals on their 24-day tour.