Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf has begun legal proceedings against fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar.

According to a statement from solicitors acting for Dr Ashraf, Shoaib claimed his five-year ban for criticising the PCB had been a consequence of his refusal to hand over money from his Indian Premier League contract to the PCB chairman.

Shoaib has been issued with a legal notice for defamation by Rizvi and Rizvi of Lahore which demands that the 32-year-old retract his statements, apologise and pay a total of 2billion Pakistani rupees (£1.6million) to Dr Ashraf and the PCB.

And there was more bad news for Shoaib as the Indian Premier League contradicted earlier statements that the former Test bowler would be welcome in the IPL despite his ban.

Shoaib was due to play for Kolkata Knightriders in the new Twenty20 league.

"Unless and until Shoaib gets himself cleared from the five-year ban, he can't play in IPL," IPL chairman Lalit Modi told Indian TV channel Times Now.

"We can't allow a banned player to play IPL. If one of our players would have been banned similarly we wouldn't have liked him to play anywhere else.

"A ban on disciplinary grounds is a serious matter and until he is cleared we will give the Kolkata Knightriders an option to replace Shoaib with another player."

Kolkata chief executive Joy Bhattacharya told Times Now: "We are disappointed by the decision but it is not devastating.

"We respect the spirit of the game. We will abide by the IPL's decision."

Modi had previously said Shoaib would be able to play in the IPL because the ban did not cover cricket played outside Pakistan.

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