Pakistan Cricket Board`s (PCB) decision to ban Shoaib Akhtar for five years and then open a month-long window for the controversial quickie to play for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has amused several former cricketers. Fast bowling great Wasim Akram says that the drama surrounding Akhtar would make a good script for a Bollywood comedy. We at Zeecric.com bring to you the views of fiery pacer of yesteryears on the pugnacious Rawalpindi Express.

The former Pakistan captain says the PCB`s decisions on Akhtar were `baffling` and would make a `good Bollywood comedy.`

“First you ban him and then you suspend it to facilitate something. After that, Naseemsaab (Naseem Ashraf, PCB chairman) and Shoaib are on TV, a politician mediates to sort out the matter and then, Naseemsaab drops his case. I think a good Bollywood director can make a hit comedy film.”

“And Shoaib should eventually join politics. He will really do well there,” he added.

Akram says the publicity-hungry Akhtar will be all fired up while playing in IPL.

“Once Shoaib sees the crowd and, of course, the babes around, I think he`ll be able to perform. It will take him just a couple of games to get fit and since he has to bowl just four overs in a match, he doesn’t need much fitness,” he said

Akram said the PCB`s ways and means were ridiculous, and slammed Akhtar for using political help to weave his way out of the mess he had landed himself in. 

With an infusion of bling, Bollywood and go-go boots, a new cricket league is trying to spin off India’s colonial inheritance into a money-making symbol of a brash, emerging nation.Whether the Indian Premier League, as it is called, will ultimately succeed in cultivating a loyal fan base at home, challenging cricket’s world order and globalizing the game of the former British Empire remains to be seen. Already, it has upturned many conventions of an erstwhile gentleman’s game, drawn corporate sponsorships from multinational firms selling everything from cellphones to real estate and, with salaries comparable to the English Premier League of soccer, lured some of the top names in international cricket, including players from India’s traditional rivals, like Australia and even Pakistan.

The game itself is a fast and furious brand of cricket called Twenty20 referring to 20 overs per team in which games are played in about three hours. In contrast to the leisurely, ritualistic five-day matches played by men in white, this form of cricket is a loud and powerful display of batsmanship geared to grab eyeballs on prime-time television, and sponsored by Adidas (and Nike and Reebok).

“Less time, more fun,” was the verdict of Harshal Kini, 20, at a Sunday night match pitting the Mumbai Indians against the Deccan Chargers of Hyderabad.

Renuka Tahiliani, 49, seated in the front row with her husband and their 14-year-old son, said, “It’s too hot to sit out here for the whole day.”

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'A Test side that can't even draw games'. The glum look on the face of the teenager who held up the banner at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, at the end of Bangalore's latest defeat, told a story. A forgettable IPL journey so far - Rahul Dravid booed on his homeground, Wasim Jaffer heckled on the boundary line and five defeats in seven matches - became unforgettable for all the wrong reasons on Tuesday with the ouster of Charu Sharma. It's unclear, though, what impact a change of CEO will have because Bangalore's poor form stems from poor cricket-related decisions.

Most didn't give Bangalore much of a chance before the tournament - simply because the side was packed with so many Test specialists - and the prediction has been spot on so far.

"After the first round of auction in Mumbai, a few friends congratulated me on my Test team," Vijay Mallya, the franchise owner, said before the IPL. " I mentioned this to our captain Dravid and he laughed it off and told me that Test cricket is the ultimate test for any cricketer and if a player can do well in that format, then he can do well in all other formats, be it one-day matches or Twenty20."

That theory has been torn apart. Bangalore are yet to settle on an opening combination - at a time other teams are riding on fire-starting partnerships up front; they haven't gelled as a unit and are yet to string together two successive wins. Their two victories have been against two of the weakest sides in the tournament and both were clinched in the final over. Here's a look at some of the key problems:

Little Twenty20 experience

Dravid had hoped his experienced internationals could deliver under pressure but what's actually happened is the converse: their lack of Twenty20 experience is hurting. Jaffer started the tournament without a single Twenty20 game; Dravid and Anil Kumble had only experienced two apiece; and Mark Boucher, the most experienced, could still be termed callow with 16 matches. Compare that to the Rajasthan Royals, who chose Dimitri Mascarenhas (31), Graeme Smith (27) and Shane Watson (17).

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Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, who landed in New Delhi last evening, has expressed his gratitude to Bollywood star and Knight Riders' owner Shahrukh Khan for his support during the past few months when he faced an inquiry and subsequently suspended from international cricket.

Shoaib was hired by Shahrukh for "Knigh Riders", but wasn't able to play following his suspension by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). As per IPL rules, a cricketer can't play in the League if he is banned by his country's cricket board.

Only two days ago the PCB had temporarily lifted the five-year ban on Shoaib.

"I am grateful to the people of India for embracing me, especially (team owner) Shah Rukh Khan who supported me. Eden Gardens is like my home ground. I am looking ahead to be there soon," the Dawn quoted Shoaib as saying in New Delhi.

He added: "I am happy to be in India. I am looking forward to play in the IPL and play my role for my team."

Shoaib admitted that he would have to train hard and acclimatize with the conditions though he had visited the country late last year. "I have not played cricket for four months. I have to acclimatize with the conditions and train hard. I want to do my bit for my team,

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf said Monday he had withdrawn a defamation lawsuit against Shoaib Akhtar after the banned fast bowler made a public apology.

The 32-year-old paceman was banned for five years last month for breaching the players' code of conduct by criticising the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) when it did not offer him a central contract in January.

Ashraf and the PCB sued him for three million dollars after Akhtar alleged in an interview the day after the ban that the board chief had demanded payments from the bowler's contract to play in an Indian tournament.

"I have withdrawn the defamation case as my honour was vindicated after Akhtar apologised publicly and retracted his baseless allegations," Ashraf told AFP.

"I forgive him as it was a matter of principle," he added, with the PCB also withdrawing its suit.

Local media said that Pakistan's prime ministerial advisor on interior affairs, Rehman Malik, brokered the deal at a dinner in his house in Islamabad on Sunday night where Ashraf forgave Akhtar.

The civil court in Lahore had summoned Akhtar for a hearing on May 16.

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It’s a fortnight since the Indian Premier League (IPL) began and the descriptions have ranged from it being a carnival and an extravaganza, a tamasha and a money-making exercise. But one third of the way into the competition, there is little doubt that the IPL has caught the imagination of the public at large.

The very fact that it is perhaps the main subject of discussion not only among cricket fans, but also among those not normally interested in the game underscores this. Various opinion polls have focused on the large number of women followers among the millions of TV viewers and also significant according to the pollsters is that IPL has scored over Shah Rukh’s newly-inaugurated game show Kya Aap Panchvi Paas Se Tez Hai.

The cricket has ranged from the exciting to the predictable though not too many matches have gone down to the wire. Yes, there have been surprise results and this is shown in the points table, where the lesser fancied Rajasthan Royals, no doubt inspired by Shane Warne’s presence and leadership qualities, are in the running for a place in the semis, while Deccan Chargers, Mumbai Indians and Bangalore’s Royal Challengers, who were all highly rated on the eve of the tournament, are all languishing in the bottom half.

The tournament has also helped explode some myths about the Twenty20 game. Oh sure, it has rained fours and sixes but that is to be expected when the duration is so limited. The point I want to emphasise is that the bowlers have not exactly been willing slaves just there at the batsman’s bidding.

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Banned Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar will not be allowed to play in the Indian Premier League despite being cleared to do so by his country's cricket authorities, an IPL official said Thursday.

Akhtar had been banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board for five years on charges of indiscipline, but a PCB panel confirmed Wednesday that he was free to play outside the country.

Akhtar had signed a contract for US$450,000 to play in the IPL.

However, Board of Control for Cricket in India vice president Rajeev Shulka said it would maintain its stance of not employing any player banned by his national body.

"There's no going back on our earlier stance, there's no question of a rethink on the matter," Shulka was quoted as saying Thursday by Indian Express newspaper.

The PCB is due to make a final ruling on Akhtar's five-year ban in June.

Like the first four-day game of the summer against Middlesex last week at Lord’s which ended in a tame draw, the opening day’s play against Gloucestershire at Bristol was severely affected by showers.

After play started at 11.30am because of a damp pitch, Glamorgan bravely chose to bat first, a decision partly based on the assumption the soft wicket would see more variable bounce as the match progressed.

But it was always going to be a major test in the opening hour against the experienced and accomplished Gloucestershire bowling pair of captain Jon Lewis and Steve Kirby.

And the home duo severely challenged the Dragons’ top order with some quality swing bowling allowing them to pick up a wicket each in the opening session.

Lewis dismissed Gareth Rees for two when the left-hander nicked a superb delivery behind to Stephen Snell. After a brief stoppage for rain, two for one soon became 15 for two when Matthew Wood was dismissed by his former Yorkshire team-mate Kirby.

This duo were in the same side that won the County Championship title in 2001, ironically clinching the title against the Welsh county at Scarborough.

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Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar made an unconditional apology on Monday to a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) tribunal hearing his appeal against a five-year ban.

Shoaib was suspended earlier this month for repeated disciplinary violations, the most recent being his criticism of board policies when the new central contracts were announced in January.

"I would like to apologise from the bottom of my heart for any grief and embarrassment I have caused with my actions and sayings to the nation, my team and the Pakistan Cricket Board," said the 32-year-old in a statement read out by his lawyer Abid Minto.

"I have resolved to alter my habits and to refrain from any such actions in future."

Former high court judge Aftab Farrukh, heading the three-man tribunal, said: "His apology will be given due consideration ... and taken as a cause for leniency."

Shoaib, suspended on six counts of indiscipline, filed his appeal earlier this month with his lawyers saying then that the ban was illegal and unconstitutional.

India's cricket board has ordered an independent investigation into allegations Harbhajan Singh slapped compatriot Shanthakumaran Sreesanth during a Twenty20 league game.

The controversial off-spinner was suspended and faces a disciplinary hearing by league organisers later on Monday.

The board said in a statement it had appointed advocate Sudhir Nanavati as commissioner to make a preliminary inquiry and to call for an explanation from those involved.

Nanavati has been asked to submit his report within 15 days to the board president in order to determine whether disciplinary action against Harbhajan might be appropriate.

The president will then refer the report to the disciplinary committee.

The board on Sunday said it had felt "let down" by Harbhajan after having stood up for him in an ugly row in Australia this year.

Harbhajan was initially banned for three tests after being found guilty of making racist remarks against all-rounder Andrew Symonds, but was subsequently let off with a fine on a lesser charge following an appeal.

Harbhajan is one of his country's most successful spin bowlers, but his disciplinary record has been poor. He was even ejected from the board's National Cricket Academy early in his career. (Reporting by Sanjay Rajan; Editing by Peter Rutherford)