Shoaib Akhtar is in deep trouble

Karachi: Controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar appears to be in deep trouble as the PCB has submitted a strong chargesheet against him while coach Geoff Lawson has asked the board not to consider the speedster for Tests.

In a chargesheet submitted to the disciplinary committee hearing the case against Shoaib, the PCB has described the bowler as a “lawbreaker”.

According to sources, the PCB has written that Shoaib has a record of breaching the terms of his central contract and that he has been in the spotlight for all wrong reasons.

To make matters worse for the fast bowler, Lawson has also suggested that he be selected only for ODIs as he was unreliable for the longer version.

“His future may lie in just being an ODI bowler as his lack of reliability is not good for Test cricket,” Lawson wrote.

The disciplinary committee met on Saturday to go through the chargesheet submitted against the fast bowler, who is under a one year probation after being banned for 13 matches and fined Rs 3.4 million for having a brawl with teammate Mohammed Asif in South Africa last year.

Now, the PCB has charged Shoaib with going public against the policies of the PCB after he was dropped from the new central contracts list in January.

Shoaib accused the board of having double standards while dealing with the players and accused it of conducting B grade matches at domestic level.

In his response to the PCB notice, Shoaib responded by saying to chairman Nasim Ashraf: “I have every respect for you as one would for an elder brother. More so, because you have been quite a helping hand throughout your tenure.”

Shoaib also stated that it was not his intention to be critical of the PCB and he regrets any inconvenience caused by him.

But now it seems unlikely that the PCB is willing to be lenient with the bowler as they have told the disciplinary committee that his off-field activities did no more than tarnish the image of the country.

“His outbursts in the media, brawls with his colleagues and team officials, disinclination to accept PCB policies on sponsorships and other issues, snubbing establishment procedures on fitness, paint him as a lawbreaker in cricket,” the chargesheet says.

“PCB in the past faced the brunt of ignoring his acts. The board has been labelled as helpless when it comes to taking action against Shoaib,” it adds.

The PCB has also informed the disciplinary committee that based on his recent performances and behaviour, the governing body decided to downgrade Shoaib’s central contract from A category to special retainership. (PTI)