LAHORE // Shoaib Akhtar's appeal against an 18-month ban was adjourned today to allow the Lahore court judge to attend the swearing in of Pakistan's new president. "The honourable judge Zahid Hussain had to go to Islamabad to attend the ceremony of Asif Ali Zardari's swearing in as president of Pakistan on Tuesday," the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lawyer Tafazzul Rizvi said. "Therefore, the proceedings of the case were not held today."
The new date for the hearing will be finalised within a couple of weeks, Mr Rizvi said. Akhtar was fined and handed a five-year ban in April by a PCB tribunal for a disciplinary breach after he criticised the Pakistan selectors. The Lahore court suspended Akhtar's ban on July 4, but did not give any ruling against the financial penalty of 7 million Pakistan rupees (Dh336,549) which was also imposed by an appellate tribunal of the PCB.
Akhtar will take the field for Surrey against Hampshire in the English County Championship at the Oval on Tuesday. It will be the right-arm fast bowler's first competitive game since he played a Test match against India in December, after which he was sidelined with a back problem. Last year, the PCB fined Akhtar 3.4 million Pakistani rupees, ordered him to undergo psychiatric counselling and imposed a 13-match international ban for hitting fellow bowler Mohammad Asif with a bat before the Twenty20 world championship in South Africa.
Akhtar has never been far from controversy in his career. In 2006 he tested positive for steroids in an out-of-competition Test before the Champions Trophy in India, but had his two-year ban overturned by an appeals committee. In 46 Test matches, Akhtar has taken 178 wickets at an average of 25.69 and 219 wickets at 23.2 in 138 limited-overs internationals. He was due to play for English County Championship side Surrey recently but was turned away by the British authorities for not obtaining a relevant working visa.
*AP