SRK backs Shoaib, wants him to play in IPL

New Delhi: Shah Rukh Khan has came out in support of Shoaib Akhtar saying that the Pakistani fast bowler should play in the IPL.

"We believe Shoaib should play. It is a sad incident that Shoaib has been banned from IPL as well. We will talk to 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 on a right spirit," Shah Rukh said on the ban on Shoaib by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the decision by the IPL not to allow him to ply in the league.

"Knight Riders are preparing for the 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 IPL. He is important for IPL," Shah Rukh added.

Shah Rukh’s Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kolkata Knight Riders had bought Shoaib for the Twenty20 tournament starting April 18.

Following the five-year ban imposed on Shoaib by the PCB; IPL Commissioner and BCCI Vice-President Lalit Modi had said that the Pakistani fast bowler couldn’t play in the league until the ban is lifted.

"He has been banned for five years for all domestic and international cricket. He is a great player and we really want Shoaib to play for us but until the ban is lifted there is nothing that we can do in this regard," Modi said.

Shoaib was banned for five years by the PCB on Tuesday for indiscipline and he then accused the PCB Chairman Nasim Ashraf of trying to extort money from him and other players in the Pakistan team.

Ironically, while banning Shoaib the PCB had said he would be free to play all other cricket including the IPL.