Shoaib Akhtar appeals against PCB ban

Lahore, Apr 4 : Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar on Friday filed an appeal against a five-year ban imposed on him by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

On Tuesday, the PCB imposed a five-year ban on Shoaib for repeatedly breaching the players' code of conduct.

"I have filed an appeal against the ban and hope that I will get justice," Akhtar said after filing the appeal.

On Thursday, the PCB sued Akhtar for three million dollars for allegedly defaming the board's chairman, Nasim Ashraf.

"We demand immediate retraction of allegations from Shoaib Akhtar in various statements which were malicious and baseless," PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf had said.

Meanwhiel, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has said he would ask the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to review its decision not to allow Akhtar to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) until the PCB lifts its ban on him.

Khan, who has a majority stake in the Kolkata Knight Riders team for which Shoaib was roped in for Rs 1.8 crore, said: "We believe Shoaib should play. It is a sad incident that Shoaib has been banned from the IPL as well. We will talk to the IPL authorities. I will be meeting Lalit Modi and other IPL officials tomorrow. His USP is his aggression. All these things keep on happening. We should take things in the right spirit."

ANI