KARACHI: The national selection committee has asked the Pakistan Cricket Board to give clear directives on whether fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar should be selected in the 15-member squad to be announced on Monday for the four-nation Twenty20 event in Toronto, Canada.
A national selector confirmed they had sought advice from the Board since the team had to be finalised tomorrow and Shoaib's case pertaining to his payment of seven million rupees fine would not be heard by the Lahore High Court before October 8.
The Lahore court is due to take up an application from the Board seeking instructions on whether Shoaib should be allowed to play for Pakistan and in Pakistan without first paying the fine imposed on him by an appellate tribunal in June.
The tribunal had reduced a five-year ban on the fast bowler to 18 months but instead added the fine.
The Board wants to know if the bowler is eligible for selection without clearing the fine as it is a legal matter and the court has already suspended his ban till the hearing is held on another writ petition filed by Shoaib challenging the ban and fine.
Shoaib has been allowed to play in the ongoing national Twenty20 championship but the Board has said it would take a final decision based on court advice.
The selectors have been forced to bring forward the announcement of the team as the Canadian embassy has asked for list of final 15 players for visa requirements.
A Board official said one solution they had in mind was to submit 16 names to the Canadian embassy for visas and advice the selectors to pick Shoaib in the final squad if they wanted but also name a reserve for him.
"If the court on October 8 decides Shoaib can't play without the fine issue or his writ petition being decided first then the selectors can put in the reserve player. If the court says he (Shoaib) can play then there is no problem," the official said.
The selectors are said to be keen on having the fast bowler in the side as the pace attack is already depleted due to the suspension of pacer Mohammad Asif.
