The Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday announced a five-year ban on temperamental fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar for repeated violations of discipline.
The players face a ban of one to two years under WADA regulations.
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt dismissed reports that he had ruled out the possibility of Shoaib Akhtar's return to the national team and said that the injury-plagued pacer will have to prove his worth in domestic tournaments to be considered for a place.
The Shaukat Khanum Hospital blamed Shoaib's brother, who said he released the report to the media to prove his brother is "completely committed" to the Pakistan team.
The two Pakistan players, who tested positive for performance-enhancing steroids, gave up their right to call for testing of 'B' samples while appearing before a drugs inquiry tribunal.
Shoaib Akhtar proposed a closed-door series to jointly raise funds to fight the deadly virus both in India and Pakistan. Kapil Dev said the proposal is not feasible. He also said cricket should not even matter for at least the next six months.
'It was a wonderful all-round effort by Afghanistan'
The Pakistan pace ace, who is playing for Durham, said he still has pain in his side muscles due to the rib cage stress.
Controversial Pakistani pace duo of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif will be under the spotlight in the Asia Cup starting Tuesday in Sri Lanka after the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has decided to conduct random dope tests during the four-nation tournament.
Shoaib Akhtar may have been cleared to play in the Indian Premier League but former players say the maverick pacer will find it tough to make an impact in the twenty20 league as months of absence from the cricket field has robbed him of match fitness.
Former Pakistan captain Moin Khan and discarded pacer Shoaib Akhtar feel the body language of the Indian cricket team at the ongoing T20 World Cup is not positive, which indicate there are problems within the side.
Pakistan has the upper hand in the Champions Trophy, winning three of the five matches against India.
Akhtar then cited how debutantes Mohammed Siraj and Shubman Gill delivered under pressure.
Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has advised suspended off-spinner Saeed Ajmal to take his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne.
Akhtar said that India don't need to be scared as they can beat England on fair pitches.
'It was a great fightback from India. The way Kuldeep played, it was massive. Look at Jasprit Bumrah, look at the fight while defending a small total.'
The Africa Cricket Association (ACA) has started dialogue with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and other stakeholders to revive the once popular Afro-Asia Cup
Akhtar also lamented that no Pakistani pacer has sought his advice while Indians like Shami has been keeping in touch with him regarding fast bowling.
'I would keep forcing him to play the drive shot at my pace'
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar on Monday claimed that match-fixing was at its peak in 1996 and said the environment in the dressing room was far from conducive.
A serious remark made by Shoaib Akthar questioning Jofra Archer's sportsmanship over the bouncer incident in the second Ashes Test was met with a hilarious tweet by former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh on Monday.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is mulling over approaching former speedster Shoaib Akhtar for the bowling consultant role as it continues its search for big names to mentor cricketers at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) Akhtar's name has come into consideration because of the unavailability of former pacer Aqib Javed, whose name was earlier finalized for the role.
Former Pakistani Test bowler Shoaib Akhtar has slammed the International Cricket Council (ICC) for their `mild rap on the wrist` to South African batsman Faf du Plessis over the ball tampering controversy, saying that the ICC 'doesn't have any guts' to show justice.
The 'Rawalpindi Express', considered the fastest bowler in history said he does not understand why the civilian sector cannot work in collaboration with the Armed forces.
Vettori said the BCCI should quickly step in and manage Malik's workload to safeguard his unique talent.
'There is a rise after every fall and it might help India in the World Cup.'
Pakistan's controversial former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar wants the PCB to appoint Australia's Tom Moody as the coach of the national team, which has faced a torrid time in the ICC Champions Trophy, failing to win a single match in three appearances.
Former captain Wasim Akram led Pakistan's cricket community in lambasting the team for "going down without a fight" against arch-rivals India.
Pakistan pace greats including Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar slammed Mohammad Amir's decision to retire from Test cricket at the age of 27.
'Pakistan was that one team against which I always loved hitting boundaries, especially against Shoaib Akhtar.'
Pakistan beat England by nine wickets in the deciding third Test to win the series 2-1 in Rawalpindi on Saturday.
After criticising Misbah-ul-haq severely in the recent past, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar took a U-turn.
Shoaib Akhtar has requested Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar to hold the All-Stars Cricket event in Pakistan as well.
The stylish middle order batsman is now gunning for Shoaib Akhtar and company during the upcoming tour to Pakistan.
The PCB CEO accused the ICC of adopting double standards in interpretation of rules.\n\n
Shoaib Akhtar said the ICC cannot implement the idea without the nod of world's richest cricket board, the BCCI.
'You can't control the emotions of the crowd and such incidents happened in the world of cricket.'
From Eden Gardens to Centurion, Shoaib Akhtar has had many memorable on-field battles with India's batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and he feels that Mohammed Aamir and Virat Kohli's face-offs will also go down the cricket history as one of the epic duels.
The Pakistan Cricket Board on Sunday said that former greats like Javed Miandad and Wasim Akram will be holding online sessions with current and emerging cricketers in Pakistan to help them remain focused in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown. These sessions have been arranged by the Pakistan national men's cricket team management in collaboration with the International Cricket Operations Department as they are looking at innovative ideas to ensure its elite players and future prospects remain connected with the game.
