LAHORE, Sept 15: Controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was on Monday dropped by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) from the Islamabad squad that would be competing in the Oct 4-8 RBS National Twenty-20 tournament.

In the official launching ceremony for the tournament, held at a local hotel here on Monday, PCB Chief Operating Officer (COO) Shafqat Naghmi faced a volley of questions about Shoaib’s omission as the sponsors unveiled the names of all players on the slide.

“We may adjust Shoaib before the start of the tournament since we still have enough time,” was all Naghmi could come up with in reply.

However, when Dawn contacted Islamabad team’s Regional President Shakil Shaikh, he disclosed that Shoaib’s name was included in the list of 16-member team of his region and was perhaps removed by the PCB.

“I myself signed the 16-member team with Shoaib Akhtar’s name very much in the squad. I don’t know what happened after the team was submitted to the PCB,” said Shakil.

Later, PCB’s official Saqib Irfan rang up Dawn and tried to clarify the situation. “Yes, Islamabad did sent a 16-member squad instead of 15 for the event with Shoaib Akhtar’s name mentioned as the 16th player. Our clerk cut his name out as only 15-member squads are allowed for the T20 event,” said Saqib.

When asked why Naghmi couldn’t elaborate on the situation at the launch, Saqib said there was no plan to show the names of the players at the launching ceremony but the sponsors came up with it by themselves.

“Danish Kaneria’s name is also mentioned in the teams which were showed on the slide, but according to fresh reports at present he is not fit enough to play. So this is not a perfect list of the teams,” he clarified.

However, sources said that Shoaib’s name had been removed because he was yet to pay up the fine of Rs 7 million imposed on him by PCB’s Appellate Tribunal.

Surprisingly, the Lahore High Court, in an order on Shoaib’s appeal against the fine and two-year ban had allowed the bowler to play cricket while pending the decision on the fine. On that basis, Shoaib’s name had also been included in the 15-member squad for the now-postponed Champions Trophy.

Moreover, the schedule and format of the tournament indicates that the PCB is just filling in the blanks by aiming to wind up a 13-team high-profile competition within just five days. According to Naghmi, the tournament had been deferred since last year and the board was not able to find a proper time to hold the event except the October dates.

“We could hold it in 10 days or more but there is no time available due to hectic domestic schedule ahead,” he said.

The winners of this tournament will be representing the country in the World Champions League where top teams of different countries would be competing.

Furthermore, as the tournament is going to start soon after Eid-ul-Fitr, it means there would be no training camp for the participating teams to get enough practice prior to the competition.

The teams have been divided into four groups.

Group-A: Faisalabad Wolves, Karachi Dolphins, Lahore Eagles, Abbottabad Rhinos.

Group-B: Sialkot Stallions, Hyderabad Hawks, Karachi Zebras.

Group-C: Peshawar Panthers, Multan Tigers, Islamabad Leopards.

Group-D: Lahore Lions, Rawalpindi Rams, Quetta Bears.

The semi-finals will be held on Oct 7 while the final on Oct 8, all at the Gaddafi Stadium.

The winners will get a hefty cash prize of Rs2.5 million while runners-up will pocket Rs one million. The other cash prizes at stake are: man-of-the-final (Rs50,000), best batsman of the tournament, best bowler, best fielder, best wicket-keeper, (Rs30,000, each).

Similarly, the Man-of-the-Match for every match will receive Rs25,000 each. The holder of the titles of most sixes, most boundaries, most wickets, most catches in the semi-final and final will also get Rs25,000, each.

In all, a total cash prizes of Rs4,395,000 are on stake.

While Mohammad Yousuf has been named captain of Lahore Eagles, Shahid Khan Afridi will lead Karachi Dolphins. However, both Yousuf and Afridi did not attend the ceremony due to Ramazan.

Misbah-ul-Haq is the captain of Faisalabad while Shoaib Malik will lead Sialkot Stallions which will not have the services of three key players — Imran Nazir, Rana Navid-ul-Hasan and Mohammad Asif for different reasons.