Shoaib free to appeal against reduced ban: PCB

KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Nasim Ashraf says Shoaib Akhtar is free to appeal against the reduced 18-month ban and the hefty fine imposed on him by the PCB appellate tribunal for indiscipline.

Even as Shoaib expressed disappointment at the tribunal's verdict, Ashraf said the maverick pacer had the right to go to High Court or even the Supreme Court.

"That is his decision to make. The tribunal's verdict has nothing to do with the PCB... I can't overturn the reduced ban on the pacer. The decision made by Justice Aftab Farrukh is final and it can only be challenged in the court," Ashraf said.

Shoaib, after hearing the decision yesterday, said he was disappointed with it as it was a blow to his already jeopardised career. "I am not happy with this decision and I am very disappointed," he said.

But Shoaib said he and his lawyer Abid Hasan Minto would go through the judgement before deciding whether to appeal.

The tribunal reduced Shoaib's original five-year ban to 18 months but fined him Rs 7 million. It was a 2-1 decision by the tribunal which felt that the original ban on the pacer was too harsh.

Ashraf, who was celebrating Pakistan's win over India in the tri-series final in Dhaka last night, asserted that the tribunal had worked independently.