KARACHI — Scandal-hit Pakistani paceman Shoaib Akhtar had 83,000 dollars docked from his pay cheque for discipline problems Tuesday, one of the heaviest fines imposed on a Pakistani player, the board said.
Akhtar was fined seven million rupees (83,000 dollars) for criticising the cricket board in 2008. He has faced a series of controversies over the years, including hitting a player with a bat, and contracting genital warts that prevented him playing in a match.
"A fine of seven million rupees has been deducted from Akhtar's payment due for January to November 2009," Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman Nadeem Sarwar told AFP.
Akhtar has been on probation since October 2007, when he was fined 52,000 dollars and banned for 13 matches for hitting bowler Mohammad Asif with a bat, ahead of the Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa.
The paceman features in the current national one-day tournament but has yet to shine.
Akhtar was dropped from Pakistan's list of 15 contracted players in January 2008 after a disappointing year on the field, prompting him to criticise the PCB publicly -- an offence that landed him a five-year ban in April 2008.
A PCB-appointed tribunal reduced the ban to 18 months, but ordered the seven-million rupee fine. Akhtar appealled to the Lahore High Court, which suspended the ban but upheld the fine in July 2008.
"Akhtar had got a stay on the ban but there was no stay on the fine, so legally PCB is in the right," PCB legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi told AFP.
The suspension of the ban allowed Akhtar to play in a Twenty20 tournament in Canada in 2008 and Pakistan's one-day series in Australia in April-May last year, but he performed poorly in both.
Akhtar was also included in Pakistan's World Twenty20 squad in June last year before being expelled after being diagnosed with genital viral warts.
Last year, Akhtar also underwent knee surgery, his second in four years, and hoped to revive his international career.
Akhtar has taken 178 wickets in 46 Tests and 223 in 144 one-day matches since making his debut in 1997.
Akhtar was fined seven million rupees (83,000 dollars) for criticising the cricket board in 2008. He has faced a series of controversies over the years, including hitting a player with a bat, and contracting genital warts that prevented him playing in a match.
"A fine of seven million rupees has been deducted from Akhtar's payment due for January to November 2009," Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman Nadeem Sarwar told AFP.
Akhtar has been on probation since October 2007, when he was fined 52,000 dollars and banned for 13 matches for hitting bowler Mohammad Asif with a bat, ahead of the Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa.
The paceman features in the current national one-day tournament but has yet to shine.
Akhtar was dropped from Pakistan's list of 15 contracted players in January 2008 after a disappointing year on the field, prompting him to criticise the PCB publicly -- an offence that landed him a five-year ban in April 2008.
A PCB-appointed tribunal reduced the ban to 18 months, but ordered the seven-million rupee fine. Akhtar appealled to the Lahore High Court, which suspended the ban but upheld the fine in July 2008.
"Akhtar had got a stay on the ban but there was no stay on the fine, so legally PCB is in the right," PCB legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi told AFP.
The suspension of the ban allowed Akhtar to play in a Twenty20 tournament in Canada in 2008 and Pakistan's one-day series in Australia in April-May last year, but he performed poorly in both.
Akhtar was also included in Pakistan's World Twenty20 squad in June last year before being expelled after being diagnosed with genital viral warts.
Last year, Akhtar also underwent knee surgery, his second in four years, and hoped to revive his international career.
Akhtar has taken 178 wickets in 46 Tests and 223 in 144 one-day matches since making his debut in 1997.
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