Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has said he would ask the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to review its decision not to allow Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) until the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lifts its five-year ban on him.
Mumbai, Apr 4 : Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has said he would ask the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to review its decision not to allow Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) until the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lifts its five-year ban on him.
Khan, who has a majority stake in the Kolkata Knight Riders team for which Shoaib was roped in for Rs 1.8 crore, said: "We believe Shoaib should play. It is a sad incident that Shoaib has been banned from the IPL as well. We will talk to the IPL authorities. I will be meeting Lalit Modi and other IPL officials tomorrow. His USP is his aggression. All these things keep on happening. We should take things in the right spirit."
"The Knight Riders are preparing for D Day. We will try to win as many games as possible. I think IPL matches don't have international status. I don't know why he should not play for the IPL. He is important for the IPL," Khan added.
"It is a ban related to his behaviour, and I hope, things get sorted out in our favour," he said.
On Thursday, BCCI Vice President and IPL Chairman Lalit Modi said Shoaib could play in the IPL if he won the appeal to have his ban rescinded.
"Ban on disciplinary grounds is a serious matter. Till the time he is cleared, we will give the 'Kolkata Knight Riders' an option to replace Shoaib with another player," Modi said.
Shoaib was banned from playing cricket for five years by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday following a disciplinary hearing.
Meanwhile, the PCB has sent a legal notice to him seeking damages of Rs 20 crore for making defamatory remarks against it in an interview he gave to a private television channel after his ban.
In that interview, Shoaib accused PCB Chairman Nasim Ashraf of trying to extort money from him and other players in the Pakistan team.
ANI