Although the Pakistan Cricket Board had announced the inclusion of controversial fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif in their 30-man probables, they held back the official announcement on Friday.
Pakistan have exceeded the July 11 deadline of submitting the list to the International Cricket Council because of an ongoing dispute with Shoaib over the payment of a fine, Reuters has learnt.
"The squad will be announced by July 15 now as the board has sent a notice to Shoaib Akhtar asking him to pay the fine by July 14," a PCB spokesman told Reuters.
Shoaib was fined Rs 7 million after he was banned for five years by the PCB for repeated misconduct and indiscipline. Although the fast bowler's ban was reduced to 18 months by an appellate tribunal, the decision on the fine remained intact.
Shoaib filed a petition against the reduced ban as well as the fine to the Lahore High Court which then stayed the ban, but refused to waive the fine imposed on him until the case resumes in September.
The spokesman added that the PCB had been granted permission to hold back the announcement of the probables till July 15. "Shoaib's name would only be considered for selection if he clears the fine first," he said.
Shoaib's lawyer, Abid Hasan Minto, has however dismissed the PCB's claims saying Shoaib was never asked to pay a fine until recently.
Mohammad Asif's availability also remains in doubt despite figuring in the probables list. A PCB-appointed tribunal is yet to start proceedings of a hearing against the embattled pacer, after he was detained in Dubai with drugs in June. He was let off, but the PCB will take up his case once it gets details from the Dubai authorities.
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