Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Asif has been arrested at Dubai airport on charges of possessing illegal drugs, cricket officials said on Tuesday. The 25-year-old Asif was seized while returning home from India after featuring in a domestic event that ended on Sunday, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said on condition of anonymity.
A tribunal rejected fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar's appeal on Wednesday against the five-year ban imposed on him by the Pakistan Cricket Board. Justice Aftab Farrukh, head of the three-member tribunal, told reporters the suspension would remain in place under an interim order until a new hearing was held in June.
Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has tendered an unconditional apology to a tribunal hearing his appeal against a five-year ban, the tribunal head said on Tuesday. The 32-year-old paceman was banned earlier this month for breaching the players' code of conduct by publicly criticising the Pakistan Cricket Board.
An International Cricket Council (ICC) investigator has questioned banned fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar over his claims that he was offered money to throw matches, Pakistani sources said on Tuesday. Akhtar (32) was banned for five years a week ago for criticising the Pakistan Cricket Board. He later alleged that that he had refused offers of bribes to underperform.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sued paceman Shoaib Akhtar for 200-million rupees ($3-million) on Thursday for making allegedly defamatory comments after he was banned for five years. Akhtar was banned by the PCB on Tuesday, a move that effectively ends his career after a series of disciplinary problems culminating in a public outburst against the board.
Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said on Wednesday he was offered money to under-perform in matches in South Africa and India but rejected them for the sake of his country. Shoaib, who was banned for five years by the Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday for disciplinary reasons, said he was angry at the suspension.
Temperamental fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was banned for five years by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday for repeated disciplinary violations. Board chairperson Dr Nasim Ashraf told a news conference the suspension was imposed on the recommendation of the PCB disciplinary committee, and the paceman had the right to lodge an appeal.
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was "shocked and disgusted" by controversial umpire Darrell Hair's reinstatement, but Australia welcomed the move on Wednesday. Inzamam clashed with Hair in the forfeited Oval Test between Pakistan and England in August 2006, which led to the Australian umpire's ban from standing in top-level matches.
Australia have scrapped their upcoming cricket tour to Pakistan over security fears, their cricket boards said in a statement on Tuesday, after bombs killed 20 people in the eastern city of Lahore. "I can confirm they have conveyed to us that they have cancelled the tour," Pakistan Cricket Board chief operating officer Shafqat Nagmi said.
South Africa's chances of clinching a one-day and Test series double against Pakistan will be decided when they play a fourth one-day international on Friday. South Africa trail 2-1 in the five-match series, having already won the Test series, and must win on Friday to keep the series alive.
The fifth one-day international between Pakistan and South Africa scheduled for Karachi on Monday has been switched to Lahore because of security fears, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Wednesday. Shafqat Naghmi, the PCB's chief executive, said the touring South Africans did not want to play in Karachi following last week's bomb attacks.
South Africa will send a top security consultant to Karachi to decide whether it is safe to play the fifth and final one-day international there next week. Pakistani officials said South Africa were uncertain about going ahead with the game following Friday's assassination attempt on former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, which killed 139 of her supporters.
South African cricket officials decided on Friday to continue their tour of Pakistan despite an assassination attempt on returning former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in Karachi. Cricket South Africa's general operations manager Brian Basson said that the decision to push on had been taken after the squad received safety assurances from their hosts.
South African cricket officials will meet to assess player safety before deciding whether to continue their tour of Pakistan after deadly blasts in Karachi, officials said on Friday. Two blasts ripped through a homecoming parade for former premier Benazir Bhutto late on Thursday in attacks that killed at least 130 people and injured more than 400.
South Africa all-rounder Shaun Pollock, his New Zealand counterpart Jacob Oram and Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar have signed up for the Indian Premier League Twenty20 series, organisers said on Tuesday. Their inclusion takes to 25 the number of foreign players who have committed to the lucrative league due to start next April.
