KARACHI: Pakistan’s enigmatic pace star Shoaib Akhtar once again attracted controversy when he was fined by the organisers of the recently-concluded Twenty20 Cup for refusing to wear a sponsorsí logo during the event.
A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said on Tuesday that Shoaib was fined Rs 10,000 after he flatly refused to wear the logo of Mobilink, which sponsored all the participating teams of the Twenty20 Cup held in Karachi from December 21-26.
Shoaib, still in the danger of being banned for doping, was told by match referee Anwar Khan to wear the cellular company’s logo when he featured in the Twenty20 Cup for the Rawalpindi Rams.
He was told that all players have to wear the logo since the PCB has an agreement with the company.
However, Shoaib refused to wear the logo saying that he had no contract with the PCB and was not being paid by the Board or the sponsors to do it.
The fast bowler hid the logo on his T-shirt with a sticker and played two matches for the Rams who were bundled out of the competition at the first hurdle.
The PCB official said that after giving Shoaib repeated warnings, the event’s officials decided to fine him.
Shoaib, 31, lost his central contract with the PCB when he failed a dope test in October. Shoaib, along with new ball partner Mohammad Asif tested positive for banned anabolic steroid nandrolone and were pulled out of Pakistan ICC Champions Trophy squad. They were later banned by a PCB anti-doping tribunal in November.
However, a PCB appeals committee overturned the ban earlier this month saying that the players did not intentionally take the banned drugs.
But the players may still face a ban as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has filed an appeal against the decision to clear them in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).
Shoaib is among the 25 players invited by the PCB for a conditioning camp that got underway at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Tuesday in preparation for next month’s tour of South Africa.
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