kolkata, April 30 : It was another day of twists and turns in the topsy-turvy world of Shoaib Akhtar. In the morning, the appellate tribunal in Pakistan upheld the five-year ban imposed of him. Though, the saving grace for Akhtar was the small window of opportunity provided by Pakistan Cricket Board that gave him the go-ahead to play the Indian Premier League. But by evening, the temperamental pacer was back to square one as the BCCI closed doors on him.

BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla told The Indian Express: “There’s no going back on our earlier stance. The decision taken by the IPL governing body was ratified and endorsed by the special general body, so where’s the question of a rethink on that matter? The PCB might have requested us to reconsider, but I don’t think there’s anything possible at this moment.”

Justice (retd) Aftab Farrukh, who headed the appellate tribunal, said that the ban stayed because Akhtar didn’t try to reform himself.

“Basically, he has not tried to reform himself and has continued to violate discipline. That is the view of the tribunal so the ban stays. This is also the order of the disciplinary committee of the Board that he can’t play for or anywhere in Pakistan domestically or internationally. But there is no bar on him playing anywhere else in the world,” Farrukh told reporters in Lahore.

The rationale behind giving Akhtar the IPL leeway was given by PCB’s legal counsel Tafazzul Rizvi. He expressed that despite punishing Akhtar, the PCB was ready to give the bowler the right to earn his livelihood.

Farrukh said that the tribunal had taken this interim decision in view of the unconditional apology submitted by Akhtar last Monday. The tribunal will now resume proceedings against the banned fast bowler in June this year.

Akhtar had appealed against the five-year ban imposed on him by the PCB for breaching the ICC players’ code of conduct by criticising the Board in the media when he was already serving the probation period.