Akhtar faces ban for speaking out against PCB

Agencies Posted: Mar 31, 2008 at 1533 hrs
Karachi, March 31: Temperamental fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar could face a penalty between Rs 1 to 5 million and even a ban of upto seven matches if the disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board finds him guilty of violating the players' Code of Conduct.

Shoaib and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria are due to appear before the disciplinary committee tomorrow to respond to the charges of speaking out against the policies of the board and other violations of the code.

The board has authorised the disciplinary committee to clear or penalise the two players.

In the new central contracts given out to the players, the penalties for speaking out against the policies of the board include a fine of Rs 1 to 10 million, three penalty points in the contract and even a ban of one to seven matches.

Shoaib, however, has not been given a new central contract but instead offered a special retainer which he has refused to accept.

But a board official said even if a player was not contracted, the rules and regulations applied to him as he was paid and given bonuses as per the contract.

The board, in fact, has greatly increased the severity of its penalties for various counts of misconduct by players in the new contracts.

If a player fails to report for a fitness test or does not listen to the board and team directives, he can be fined Rs 200,000 to one million and banned for three to six matches.