Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar should not compete in next month's domestic Twenty20 tournament unless he pays a pending 7 million Pakistan rupees ($91,539) fine, the Pakistan Cricket Board's legal adviser said Tuesday. “Akhtar has to pay the fine or obtain a stay order against the financial penalty, otherwise he can't play in Pakistan or for Pakistan,” lawyer Tafazzul Rizvi told The Associated Press. In April, Akhtar was fined and handed a five-year ban by a PCB tribunal for a disciplinary breach after he criticized the Pakistan selectors. A Lahore court suspended the ban on July 4, but did not give any ruling against the financial penalty. Akhtar was originally omitted from all of the 13 teams contesting the Oct. 4-8 national Twenty20 tournament, but his name was subsequently added to the Islamabad Leopards lineup. “I had signed the final team of 16-men and Shoaib Akhtar's name was very much in the team,” Shakil Shaikh, president of the Islamabad Cricket Association, said. The PCB claimed that sponsors had incorrectly left off Akhtar's name on the original rosters, which was later corrected. Rizvi declined to comment on Akhtar's selection, but said legally the fast bowler was bound to pay the fine if he wanted to play cricket in Pakistan. Leading Pakistan players Mohammad Yousuf (Lahore Eagles), Shahid Afridi (Karachi Dolphins), Misbah-ul-Haq (Faisalabad Wolves) and Shoaib Malik (Sialkot Stallions) have been named as captains of their respective teams. – AP __
