Shoaib Akhtar's five-year ban upheld

Shoaib Akhtar has had his appeal against a five-year ban imposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) rejected.

The Pakistan fast bowler was suspended from all cricket after the PCB claimed he had repeatedly breached their code of conduct. A three-man panel has today upheld the original decision, although the board did say the ban did not prevent Akhtar playing outside of Pakistan.

The ruling comes just a day after Akhtar apologised to Nasim Ashraf, the chairman of the PCB, after he had been threatened with legal action for claiming the ban was punishment for not sharing projected Indian Premier League (IPL) earnings with Ashraf.

A statement from the PCB read: "We for the time being are of the view that Shoaib can play anywhere outside Pakistan," said the statement. "It was not our intention to him restrain him on that level. Shoaib can also play in the IPL. He however cannot play for Pakistan internationally or nationally."