Shoaib to face committee over Asif bust-up

The Pakistan fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar, will face a disciplinary committee on October 6 for allegedly hitting Mohammad Asif, his team-mate, with a bat before the start of the Twenty20 tournament.

The incident, which Shoaib insists was unintentional, forced Pakistan's management to send the bowler home. Asif, however, is adamant that Shoaib's actions were not accidental while stating that he "got enraged for no reason". A third person, Shahid Afridi, is also involved in the affair after Shoaib claimed it was he who provoked the row in the first place.

"We have issued a notice to Shoaib and asked him to appear before the committee on October 6 to record his statement," Shafqat Naghmi, head of Pakistan's disciplinary committee, said. "Besides Shoaib, Asif and Afridi [will] also be examined on Oct. 6 and we will also question the team manager and some players."

It is yet another controversial incident to blight Shoaib's copybook. Last month, he escaped a $5,000 fine for leaving a training camp in Karachi without informing the management. The fine was suspended when Shoaib insisted that he told his captain, Shoaib Malik, of his intentions to depart from training early.

Pakistan's first Test against South Africa in Karachi, for which Shoaib has not been picked, gets under way on Monday.