Shoaib hits Asif with bat, thrown out of team

Akhtar, 32, was involved in a fight with Asif after a nets session in Johannesburg where the team was practising for the meet staring September 11. Asif suffered a bruised thigh but would be fit before Pakistan’s first game against Scotland on September 12.

Terming the incident as “unfortunate”, Naghmi said the board would not tolerate indiscipline. He said a full inquiry would be held when Akhtar returned to Pakistan. “Shoaib admitted he had struck Asif with the bat and was apologetic, but we are treating this incident very seriously,” said Naghmi.

PCB chairman Naseem Ashraf did not rule out the possibility of Akhtar facing more disciplinary action including a possible long-term ban. He said the board would not allow any player to violate team spirit. “We are giving a lot of importance to discipline and any player who violates the norms has to face the consequences,” he added.

Sources said the fight between the two started after Asif and Shahid Afridi disagreed with Shoaib that he shared the same stature as Imran Khan in Pakistan cricket and even ridiculed him for making such a comparison.

The incident comes at a time when the Pakistan team was banking on Shoaib and Asif, who share the new ball, to lift them to a good performance in the Twenty20 World Championships after their debacle in the World Cup at the Caribbean earlier this year.

Naghmi said the Board would decide on a replacement soon but sources said uncapped left-arm pacer Sohail Tanvir is to replace Akhtar who had made a return to the side after playing just one Test and four one-dayers in the last 15-months.

THE SHOAIB AKHTAR

DIARY

1999 Umpires Peter Willey and Darrell Hair and match referee John Reid call Shoaib Akhtar for chucking: Pak tour to Australia (later cleared by ICC).

2001 Called again for suspect action by umpires Steve Dunne and Doug Cowie in New Zealand.

2002 Banned for an ODI after throwing a bottle into the crowds in Zimbabwe. Caught ball tampering in first Test, but escapes punishment.

2003 Axed from Pak team after a poor World Cup. Told by PCB chief Tauqir Zia to clean up act or be removed from team forever.

• Recalled in May for a triangular in Sri Lanka and promptly becomes the second player to be banned for ball tampering.

• Appointed vice-captain for Test vs South Africa, served a lawsuit by a Pakistani citizen for attending a fashion show on a night of religious significance.

• Banned for one Test and two ODIs for abusing Paul Adams in the first Test.

• Misses Test in New Zealand with calf and groin injuries but is photographed one day before enjoying a jet-ski ride.

2004 Disappointing series vs India ends with back injury in final Test. Unable to bowl for rest of match, he comes out to bat later, freely smacking boundaries in a 14-ball 28. Inzamam publicly questions the authenticity of the injury.

2005 Relationship with both Inzamam and coach Bob Woolmer erodes steadily and his stock is at its lowest ebb when he is verbally maligned by Worcestershire chairman John Elliott for being a disruptive influence.

2006 Banned for two years after testing positive for the banned substance Nandrolone (Md Asif was also banned with Shoaib, same substance). Shoaib sent back to Pakistan, misses Champions Trophy. Verdict, however, was overturned by a three-man tribunal a month later.

• Liaision officer Col Anil Kaul with Pak team at Champions Trophy (while he was still there) alleges that Shoaib had slapped coach Bob Woolmer after they had a fight over what music should be played in the team bus in Jaipur.

• Also alleged that Shoaib had misbehaved with some girls at a discotheque which led to a brawl.

2007 A televised spat with Bob Woolmer results in Shoaib being fined by the board. Later, after much deliberation, Shoaib is declared unfit to take part in the World Cup due to injury at the very last minute. Speculation has it that his exclusion was from fear of being dope-tested by the ICC, and that traces of Nandrolone were still present in his body.

• A fit-again Shoaib is named in Asia XI squad to take on an Africa XI but is withdrawn by the Pakistan board after he declared himself unavailable for Pakistan’s tour of Abu Dhabi.

• Included in squad for Scotland and later named in team for inaugural ICC World Twenty20. He leaves a training camp in Karachi without permission and is fined at a disciplinary hearing. On appeal, a second hearing suspends the fine and charges and puts Shoaib on a six-week probationary period.

• A dressing room spat with Mohammad Asif in South Africa results in Shoaib being sent back home prior to the event.