LAHORE, July 29: A Pakistani court on Tuesday warned express bowler Shoaib Akhtar of stern action if he failed to appear over a petition demanding an apology for his criticisms about fellow cricketers, officials said.

“Shoaib or his lawyer must appear in the court on Sept 1 and respond to a petition against his newspaper interview,” Judge Mudassar Umer Bodla said.

“A new summons will be issued against him,” a court official told AFP.

The judge took a serious view of the failure of Shoaib to respond to an earlier subpoena about two weeks ago, the official said.

A local resident, Syed Najmul Abbas, filed the petition earlier this month demanding an apology from Shoaib for his newspaper interview, claiming that it hurt the national integrity.

Shoaib, 27, dubbed as “Rawalpindi Express” for his extraordinary pace, reportedly told Britain’s Guardian newspaper in June: “Imagine if I was playing for Australia with Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie softening them up, then I come on, I’d have got more wickets than anyone ever, mate.”

He went on: “Because when I play for Pakistan, with Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis they are in decline. They were great but they’re not match-winning bowlers any more. So I have to make it all happen on my own.”

The petitioner’s lawyer Ansar Mahmood Bajwa said cricketers are role models for young people and “must act properly”.

Shoaib, who has called the petition a publicity stunt, is likely to miss the hearing as he is currently playing for Durham in the English county championship.

He will also skip Pakistan’s home series against Bangladesh next month before returning home late September.

Shoaib, who recorded 100 miles (160 kilometres) per hour for a second time during Pakistan’s first round exit in the World Cup this year, has been told by the country’s cricket chief Tauqir Zia to avoid misdemeanours on and off the cricket field.—AFP