Shoaib submits his reply to the board

Shoaib Akhtar has submitted his reply to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in response to the charge that he violated the terms of his central contract. Shoaib's written reply will now be considered by an inquiry committee set up by the board.

"The committee will go through his reply on Wednesday to decide if there is any ground for forwarding it to the PCB disciplinary committee," said Abbas Zaidi, the PCB director, quoted in The News. "If the committee is satisfied with his answers, the issue would be closed."

The PCB had asked for a clarification from Shoaib on four issues: his late return from Australia; consulting a private trainer [Dr Taufeeq Razzak] instead of Greg Compton, the PCB-appointed trainer; his comments in the media, and also alleged stories of nightclub appearances.

Shoaib didn't sign the central contract until the Test series was over, and according to the PCB, he is in breach of that if found guilty of these four trangressions. However, Zaidi asserted that it didn't necessarily rule Shoaib out of contention for the Indian tour, saying, "Just because we feel he has violated four clauses of the contract does not mean he is automatically ruled out of the Indian tour."

Shoaib's supporters would have been boosted however by a statement from Inzamam-ul-Haq that rubbished earlier reports that he and other senior team members wanted Shoaib sidelined. "I am surprised to read reports that we have threatened to boycott the tour if Shoaib is in the side; it's not true," said Inzamam. "We have never had any such discussions.

"If he [Shoaib] is fit and that is for the doctors and selectors to judge - he should be in the touring side because he is our main strike bowler and will be valuable to us on the Indian pitches and against their batsmen."

There have been rumours of a frosty relationship between Inzamam and Shoaib for a while now, with certain quarters of the media suggesting that Shoaib was gunning for the top job, But Inzamam insisted that he considered him a valuable member of the side. "There are no problems between us; he is there to perform likewise it is the same with me," said Inzamam. And when asked about the brouhaha over the length of Shoaib's run-up, he was just as forthright, saying, "If it has been suggested that he should reduce his run-up, it is in the team's interest but it's a suggestion and not an order."

On Tuesday, the Shoaib injury saga took another sharp twist, with the news that the three foreign trainers and physiotherapists employed by the PCB had left on vacation. Murray Stevenson and Darryn Lifsun left for London, while Compton, the trainer who was supposed to be supervising Shoaib's recovery at the National Cricket Academy, left for South Africa.

Shoaib apparently needs another two to three weeks to recover from the torn hamstring, and he was clueless when asked what course of action he saw fit to take, with Compton having departed. "I don't know the situation but Compton told me he was leaving for South Africa," said Shoaib. "I will ask the Board officials for guidance and what I am supposed to do."