Cricket Update: Court Directs the PCB to Expedite the Hearing on Shoaib Akhtar’s Appeal
Responding to an application forwarded by the fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, a Pakistani court has directed the Pakistan Cricket Board to be quick in the hearing process of the bowler’s appeal against the ban.
Shoaib Akhtar, who had filed an appeal against the board’s decision of one-and-a-half year ban upon him along with a fine of seven million rupees, had been waiting for the final decision of the arbitrary body for long, but the bowler wasn’t getting any solid
reply except the lame excuses offered by those sitting at the helm of the affairs.
The decision of long ban on the player along with heavy fine was imposed by an appellate body constituted by the board.
The bowler, known as Rawalpindi Express, could only resume with his cricketing career after the Lahore High Court had provided him an interim relief and by suspending the ban, had allowed him to take part into national and international cricket matches.
Yesterday (Friday), Shoaib, through his counsel Abid http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hasan-c61990 Manto, had informed the High Court that the board’s tribunal which had awarded him the penalties was not authorised to do so as per the book. He was of the view that the tribunal was trying to exercise
the powers which had never been vested into it.
Providing details to the court, Shoaib’s Lawyer lamented on the fact that the appellate tribunal had illegally imposed the impugned order on the basis of two other orders which had been issued by two different committees of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 Cricket Board.
The lawyer pointed it out that earlier in October 2007, a disciplinary committee had taken the decision to impose a ban for 13 matches on the player and had asked him to pay 4 million rupees fine for hitting a team-mate during the team’s tour to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757.
However, quite contrary to the earlier decision, Manto said, another committee had proposed a life time ban on the player which was later on challenged by the bowler in the board’s tribunal.
He was of the view that imposition of a life ban was completely illegal as neither law nor rule or policy of the PCB had supported it. Therefore, an order which had no legal basis could not be imposed or implemented by any tribunal or committee.
Concluding his remarks, Manto had appealed the court that on the basis of the facts offered by him, findings of the appellate tribunal should be regarded as illegal and hence be declared as null and void.
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