Shoaib Akhtar allegedly struck teammate Mohammad Asif with a bat in the dressing room during the 2007 World T20, leading to his expulsion from the squad.
During the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007, Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was involved in a shocking dressing room altercation with teammate Mohammad Asif. Reports indicated that Akhtar struck Asif with a bat during an argument, injuring his left arm/thigh.
The PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) sent Akhtar home from the tournament immediately and banned him. The incident was initially kept quiet but leaked to the media, causing a massive scandal. Akhtar claimed the incident was blown out of proportion and was merely "horseplay" between teammates, but Asif reportedly needed medical attention.
The incident highlighted the volatile atmosphere within the Pakistan cricket team at the time and Shoaib Akhtar's reputation as one of the most unpredictable characters in world cricket. Akhtar was initially banned for 5 years by the PCB but this was later reduced on appeal. The episode remains one of the most extraordinary instances of teammate-on-teammate violence in cricket history.
Shoaib Akhtar sent home and initially banned for 5 years (later reduced). One of cricket's most bizarre internal incidents.
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