Pakistan's fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar addresses a news conference in Lahore, yesterday.- APLAHORE, Pakistan (AP):
CONTROVERSIAL PAKISTANI cricketer Shoaib Akhtar said yesterday he acciden-tally hit fellow fast bowler Mohammad Asif with a bat during a fight with another teammate, Shahid Afridi, who had insulted his family.
Afridi made the nasty comments after a practice session in Johannesburg ahead of the Twenty20 World Championship, and the two became embroiled in a tussle, Akhtar said. When Asif tried to break them up, Akhtar accidentally struck him with his bat.
"I got agitated when Afridi used bad words about my family, and (in the ensuing argument) Asif was accidentally struck on the thigh," Akhtar told reporters in the eastern city of Lahore. "I can't tolerate if someone uses bad words about my family, even if it's in a lighter vein."
Asif suffered a bruised thigh but will be fit in time for Pakistan's first game, against Scotland, on September 12.
"I admit that I got carried away and I am sorry for that, but it happened because I can't tolerate if somebody says ill about my family," Akhtar said
'Not a villain'
Akhtar compared the incident to when former French soccer captain Zinedane Zidane headbutted an Italian rival who reportedly insulted his family during last year's World Cup. Zidane was sent off. It was his last game playing for France.
"Please don't portray me as a villain. I am not a villain," Akhtar said.
Akhtar arrived home from South Africa yesterday, after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) endorsed the team management's decision to send him home.
Paceman Akhtar, popularly known as the Rawalpindi Express, said he has seen plenty of fighting between teammates, but that he never talked to the media about it. In this case, it was Afridi who broke the news.
"The news was leaked to the media and it all got complicated," Akhtar said.
He said he hoped his team would not suffer in the Twenty20 tournament because of his absence.
The PCB has banned Akhtar from playing for an indefinite period and plans to conduct an inquiry into the incident once the tournament in South Africa is over.
Akhtar has a checkered disciplinary history. Last month, he was handed a fine of US$5,000 for leaving a training camp in the southern city of Karachi without informing the team's management. The fine was suspended, but board officials said he will now have to pay the fine because of this latest lapse.
In October 2006, Akhtar and Asif were sent home from the ICC Champions Trophy tournament in neighbouring India after both tested positive for the banned substance nandrolone. A PCB tribunal banned Akhtar for two years, while Asif was banned for a year. A PCB appellate tribunal subsequently reversed the decisions.
