Shoaib sent home after Asif row

[daydreamer]

From BBC


Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar has been sent home from the World Twenty 20 after a bust-up with Mohammad Asif.

Shoaib, who was already on probation for a disciplinary breach last month, confronted team-mate Asif during practice in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Shoaib admitted to hitting Asif with a bat, causing bruising to his left thigh and prompting a team investigation.

"A decision has been taken to call back Shoaib after an initial inquiry," said Pakistan chief executive Shafqat Nagmi.

"The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) fully endorses this decision. Shoaib Akhtar will be returning on the first available flight.

"No one will be spared if he flouts the rules and team spirit. What has happened is something that has shocked us."

Naghmi added that a detailed inquiry into the "unfortunate incident" would be held when the player returned to Pakistan.

Shoaib's actions have been condemned by a number of former Pakistan stars.

"Senior players have a responsibility in the team and what Shoaib did was sad," Aamir Sohail commented.

"Anyone behaving like this should not be in the team. His act has brought shame to the team and the nation," said former fast bowler Waqar Younis

Rameez Raja, now a cricket commentator, said both players were "the temperamental type".

But he added: "This behaviour is not acceptable. I don't see him playing in the immediate future for Pakistan.

"I don't think he will get much support from the fans as well - people seem to be tired of his tantrums."

National Aacdemy coach Aaqib Javed said Shoaib should never be picked for Pakistan again.

"There must be a life ban imposed on him because this is anincident that has embarrassed all of us and is a black mark for our cricket community," he commented.

The incident occurred just five days before Pakistan play their opening World Twenty20 fixture against Scotland.

Media manager Dr Ehsan Malik insisted Asif would be fit to start that game, saying: "Asif has a bruise on his left thigh but he has had X-rays and has been cleared. He is fine as far as I know."

But Shoaib's future as an international cricketer could now be in doubt.

The 32-year-old was looking to relaunch his career after 16 months in which he has played just one Test and four one-dayers, mainly due to fitness problems.

He has been dogged by controversy for much of his career, and was banned for two years after failing a drugs test last October before having the suspension lifted on appeal.

Asif was also handed a reprieve after receiving a one-year ban for a similar offence.

Last month he was fined for leaving a training camp in Karachi without asking permission, though the penalty was suspended for two months and the bowler placed on a six-week probationary period, again on appeal.

Shoaib also courted controversy on Thursday when he hit out at cricket's administrators, claiming rule changes and pitch conditions in the modern game favour batsmen over fast bowlers.

"Cricket should be about fast bowlers, not batsmen," he said. "Spectators like to see fast bowlers running in, hurting people, and pitches that make batsmen struggle for runs.

"But now we play on good batting tracks all the time, they've made laws about bouncers and free hits for a no-ball."

And it has emerged the Pakistan Cricket Board will refer Shoaib's comments to the "to the Disciplinary Committee for action under the Players Code of Conduct as contained in the Players contract".

A statement added: "The PCB is committed to a zero tolerance policy regarding indiscipline."

ei shalar mathai asholei prob ase

[DarKsaInt]

Originally Posted by daydreamer

ei shalar mathai asholei prob ase

^^^^^^^^he he ..D....ei ta r notun ki
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[daydreamer]

World T20 Pakistan: Shamed Akhtar apologises for brawl


KARACHI, Pakistan (AFP) - Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar apologised Friday for hitting teammate Mohammad Asif, but said he was provoked into the act which saw him sent home from the world Twenty20 championships.

Akhtar also compared his behaviour to that of French footballing icon Zinedine Zidane, who stunned the world when he head-butted Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the final of the 2006 World Cup in Germany last year.

"I am sorry for my act. It was a two-minute temper loss which caused me and my team embarrassment and I apologise," Akhtar told AFP as he headed back to Pakistan from Johannesburg in South Africa.

The 32-year-old hit Asif on the leg with a cricket bat after a row during a practice session in Johannesburg on Thursday and the team management in consultation with the Pakistan Cricket Board decided to expel him.

"I was provoked and I will brief the media about the whole affair on Saturday evening when I return home. I have never hit anyone like that and I am very sorry," he added.

"Zidane did it in a World Cup final and I am also a human being. What happened was not good but I am also a human being and what can happen to a human being in a fit of anger, a random act, is unbelievable."

The injury-prone paceman was on the comeback trail with Pakistan due to open their Twenty20 campaign against Scotland at Durban on Wednesday.

The maverick bowler, the fastest in the world has endured a torrid year.

Last year he and Asif were also sent home from the ICC Champions Trophy for testing positive for the steroid nandrolone in October last year. Both were banned but then won appeals to be reinstated.

Last month Akhtar was fined 5,000 dollars for leaving a training camp without informing team manager Talat Ali but again the fine was suspended on appeal.

The latest episode, however, is likely to impede his immediate return to cricket which saw him play just four one-day internationals and two Tests in the last 19 months. Akhtar begged forgiveness from Pakistan's obsessive cricket fans.

"Don't make me a villain. I am a human being and I can also make mistakes. I am sorry for what happened and I hope people will forgive me. I am not a bad human being, it's just that I get angry more often than others," he said.

"I have missed a lot of cricket though injuries and now this has happened. I desperately want to play."

Akhtar also had altercations with former coach Bob Woolmer, including a shouting match during a Test at Port Elizabeth in South Africa in February this year. Then too he was sent home after he ruptured his hamstring.

Woolmer died during Pakistan's first-round eit from the World Cup in the Caribbean in March and was replaced by former Australian fast bowler Geoff Lawson.

[Severus]

bat diya bari marse...

[dead_eyez]

hehehe..taal shala

[Bristir Chhonde]

hahahahah hillarious...

[batman]

hahahaha, interesting news