Karachi: Shoaib Akhtar could be handed a reduced punishment by the appellate tribunal which will resume the hearing on his appeal on June 4, according to highly placed sources.

He has already got a one month suspension of his five-year ban through political intervention.

Sources said that Shoaib had used his contacts in political circles to first get PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf to withdraw his (Pakistan) Rs 220 million defamation suit against him and was now working to get the five-year ban further reduced.

“The fact that one of the tribunal members, Salman Taseer, has been appointed to the powerful position of governor of Punjab is a clear indication that Lady Luck is now smiling on Shoaib,” a source said.

Shoaib will have to face regular hearings when he returns home.

Meanwhile, the PCB has downplayed reports in a section of the media that Shoaib was questioned about a large number of syringes in his baggage prior to leaving for India.

The reports contained something grossly inaccurate — that Shoaib had landed in Mumbai via Karachi. The fact is he came to Calcutta from Lahore via New Delhi. (PTI)