Shoaib Akhtar summoned by FIA over cyberstalking charges

Former Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar has been summoned by the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) cybercrime wing on a complaint filed by the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) legal advisor.

As per reports from PTI, Shoaib Akhtar has been asked to appear before the FIA on June 5 to record his statement on this matter. The summon has been issued based on the accusations made by Taffazul Rizvi, the PCB legal advisor.

"We have examined Rizvi's complaint against Akhtar in which the former said the latter committed the offence of cyber stalking against him on his YouTube channel," said an FIA official.

The FIA official added that no FIR has been registered as yet, and further action will be initiated only after hearing Shoaib Akhtar's version of the story.

"We will see about the registration of an FIR (first investigation report) after recording the statement of Shoiab Akhtar and confronting him in this respect."

Shoaib Akhtar summoned by FIARead more: https://t.co/6DlYw5iJas pic.twitter.com/v8uaKZJTas

— Cricket Pakistan (@cricketpakcompk) June 3, 2020

The former express pace bowler has denied receiving any such notice from the FIA. Last month, Shoaib Akhtar was even served a defamation notice of PKR 100 million by Rizvi for using "inappropriate and derogatory" language against the latter on his YouTube channel.

Shoaib Akhtar has yet again landed himself into trouble after PCB legal advisor Tafazzul Rizvi filed a criminal as well as a defamation suit against the former fast bowler.#ShoaibAkhtar #Pakistan #Crickethttps://t.co/Ji5rpMeJvO

— Sportstar (@sportstarweb) April 29, 2020

Shoaib Akhtar criticised Rizvi on his YouTube channel

Shoaib Akhtar had questioned the 3-year ban imposed on Umar Akmal for failing to report repeated approaches by match-fixers. He had targeted Rizvi in his comments and questioned the latter's integrity.

Akhtar said:

"The PCB's (Pakistan Cricket Board) legal department is rotten to the core. Tafazzul Rizvi in particular is one such individual. He has deep connections and has been with the board for 10-15 years."

Shoaib Akhtar took a potshot at the lawyer's legal acumen, and accused him of dragging sporting superstars including Shahid Afridi to courts just to garner some fame.

"There has never been a case that he has not lost. The thing that angered me the most was when he dragged Shahid Afridi in courts. I believe that stars are born and must be respected, and these lawyers use our high-profile cases to earn fame."

He iterated that Rizvi was taking the PCB for a ride and minting money by creating a confrontation between the latter and its own players.

"Rizvi ... has lost cases against me, Afridi, doping case ... everything. What he does is that he pits PCB against its players and profits off of their legal wrangles."

He brought out the irony of the situation where Umar Akmal was banned for not reporting a fixing approach, while the same legal department took no action on the PCB itself aiding gambling.

"Umar Akmal can be banned for not reporting an approach but the legal department could not see that the PCB itself was making agreements that allowed a third party to make PSL matches available for gambling."