Shoaib Akhtar arrives amid much fanfare to address the press in Islamabad...

Shoaib Akhtar, speaking a day after a PCB disciplinary committee imposed a five-year ban on him, said he had been victimised by Pakistani cricket authorities.

"I have been victimised, I have been pinpoint targeted. I should be told what I did and when I violated discipline," Shoaib said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad. "I am what I am because of Pakistan but my punishment is also because I am Pakistani.

"Banning a guy who played for his country with high fever is wrong. I will not go down without a fight. Even my doping case was mishandled," Shoaib said. "I will appeal, as is my right. If that fails I will go to court, if that fails then I will go to the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, there have been reports filtering through that the newly-elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, Yousuf Raza Gillani, has spoken with PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf and asked him to review the decision.

Shoaib was hauled up for comments made after not being offered a contract by the PCB, while on a two-year probation for hitting team-mate Mohammad Asif with a bat before the World Twenty20 last year.

Fast bowler to contest five-year ban   read more »