Lahore HC asks for Akhtar8217;s past disciplinary record

The Lahore HC will look into the past behaviour of Shoaib Akhtar before giving a verdict on his appeal against the PCB ban against him.

The Lahore High Court will look into the past behaviour of Shoaib Akhtar before giving a verdict on his appeal against the 18-month ban and seven million rupees fine imposed on the fast bowler by an appellate tribunal of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Chief Justice Syed Zahid Hussain has asked the PCB to submit all the past records of Shoaib8217;s brushes with authority, disciplinary offences and the penalties imposed on him by the Board.

The CJ gave the orders after the legal counsel for the fast bowler Abid Hasan Minto said before the court that the ban and fine on the bowler was unjustified as the PCB had never served any legal notice to his client.

Syed Tafazzul Rizvi, the legal counsel of the board informed the court that Shoaib had shown no signs of improving despite giving an undertaking to the court in September when he was granted a stay order against the ban allowing him to resume his cricket career.

8220;I informed the court that despite the undertaking Shoaib had gone to India and criticised the Board there and also took part in a dance show on television without getting permission from the Board,8221; Rizvi said.

He said he had submitted a DVD copy of Shoaib8217;s activities in India and his press conference. 8220;Since Shoaib8217;s lawyer insisted his client was never put on notice the court asked us to submit all relevant records of his past behaviour and deeds,8221; Rizvi added.

He said the PCB would submit all the records within a week and the court would then hold the next hearing.

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Shoaib has appealed against the ban and fine imposed on him in the High Court which did not hold any hearings since he was busy playing for Pakistan.

After the ban was suspended by the court, the national selectors picked the fast bowler in the team for a Twenty20 four nation tournament in Toronto and more recently the one-day series against the West Indies in Abu Dhabi. However, he didn8217;t play in the one-day series due to a calf injury.

The experienced paceman has a troubled history of brushes with the establishment and indiscipline and was initially banned for five years by the Board8217;s disciplinary committee in March for several violations of discipline.

But the appellate tribunal reduced the ban to 18 months and imposed the fine instead which Shoaib has not paid as yet.

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Last year also the PCB had banned him for 13 matches and put him on a two-year probation after he struck teammate Mohammad Asif with a bat in South Africa before the Twenty20 World Cup. Shoaib returned to the Pakistan team in October after a 10-month layoff due to disciplinary and fitness issues.