5-year ban on Akhtar unacceptable: Imran

8220;The ban on Shoaib and even on the players who have gone to play in the Indian Cricket League are unacceptable and will shake the foundations of our cricket system. We are losing good players to bad policies of the Board,8221; Imran said.

Miandad also echoed the sentiments of his ex-teammate, saying he was surprised to know that a Board that had always been soft on disciplinary issues should take such a harsh decision.

8220;I don8217;t understand what they are trying to do. Yes, Shoaib has had disciplinary problems in the past but still five years for just speaking out against their policies is unacceptable and uncalled for,8221; he said.

Miandad called on the new government to make sweeping changes in the Cricket Board to save the sport from further destruction.

Another former captain Zaheer Abbas also came out in support of Akhtar and said the ban was unjustified.

8220;It is shameful to ban a leading player for five years.

He does not deserve this. They could have just fined him and reprimanded him. This ban will have a detrimental effect on the performance of the team for sure,8221; Zaheer said.

He felt Akhtar had no option but to appeal against the ban. 8220;He has to do it to save his career after all he does not have much time in international cricket,8221; he said.

Former spinner Iqbal Qasim said he did not think Akhtar would play for Pakistan again.

8220;He is 32 now and when he completes the ban he will be 37. It would be over for him. The punishment I think is very severe and harsh. Cricket is Shoaib8217;s bread and butter.8221;

Former captain Rashif Latif said Akhtar had not spoken anything against Pakistan but only against the policies of the Cricket Board and as a senior player he had a right to do so.

8220;Banning players left and right is not the solution to the problems of Pakistan cricket.8221;

Rameez justifies banning 8216;problem child8217; Akhtar

Former Pakistan captain Rameez Raja has supported the decision to impose five-year ban on Shoaib Akhtar, saying the temperamental fast bowler had become a 8220;problem child8221; and the verdict was just and expected.

Rameez, who worked as chief executive of the Board between 2003 and 2005, said the speedster had brought the problem upon himself.

8220;He has been a problem child for some time now. This is not the first time he has had problems with discipline. I think the five-year ban is justified and was coming for a while now. The authorities had no other choice,8221; Rameez said.

8220;It was time the authorities took a hard decision because indiscipline should not be tolerated at any costs,8221; he told Geo News.

Rameez did not agree with suggestions that Shoaib8217;s ban would weaken the Pakistan bowling attack and have a negative impact on the team8217;s performances in future.

8220;As it is how many matches has he played in recent times.

He was missing more matches than playing and this was having a bad effect on other players. With him not in the team his negative influence will not be there and the team will do better,8221; he said.

The former captain said Shoaib with his habit of violating discipline had become a negative influence on the team.

8220;I think it was time to do something for the Board. There has been a lot of leniency shown in the past.8221;

Rameez said Pakistan was blessed with lot of pace bowling talent and it did not need to worry about the depth for the future.