There was great news for Shoaib Akhtar this week as he was given a temporary reprieve and allowed to play cricket until his appeal against the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for indiscipline is heard in September. The fast bowler never seems to be too far away from controversy, and is coming to England to play county cricket over the summer in the hope of playing in the ICC Champions Trophy later this year.

Shoaib was banned for five years in April this year from playing in international and domestic matches by the PCB after publicly criticising the board during a disciplinary meeting, although this was then reduced to just 18 months by a tribunal last month. In an 11-year international career, Shoaib has taken 178 wickets in 46 Tests and 219 wickets in 138 one-day matches, but tested positive for using steroids in 2006 and given a two-year suspension, although this was later rescinded.

In the run up to the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in 2007 the paceman was banned for 13 international matches and given a two-year probation as punishment for an altercation which saw him attack team-mate Mohammed Asif with a bat. He was also twice sidelined over allegations of throwing and was also banned for a breach of code on tour and ball-tampering.

The Rawalpindi Express is a brilliant bowler when his mind is on the job, taking 17 wickets against England in 2005 to help Pakistan to a 2-0 victory, whiles England were riding high from winning the Ashes. And he also helped himself to five-wicket hauls against Australia on three occasions but it appears he is prone to go off the rails as regularly as former England football legend Paul Gascoigne.

He took offence to not being awarded a central contract with the PCB and objected to a retainer contract after PCB chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi criticised his lack of fitness on the tour of India at the end of 2007. Back in February this year, he was signed up by the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise for £215,000 to play for them in the inaugural Indian Premier League but his ban meant he missed most of their campaign before it was lifted to allow him to compete in their final games.

He showed to the world that he can still bowl well after he took 4-11 off three overs against the Delhi Daredevils back in May, and if he does well in England this summer, he will be hoping he can reinvent himself and earn a call up to international cricket again if the court overturns his suspension in Septemer. The chances of that happening are slim if you believe the PCB lawyer, meaning he must make the most of the little reprieve he has to show to the PCB and the world just how much they need him back.

Pakistan are currently ranked six in Tests and five in ODIs, but with Shoaib are a far better side. The punishment doesn’t fit the crime, and while all nations have problems with ill-disciplined players, they don’t receive such a severe punishment. The PCB are unjustly strict with their players and their team suffers as a result, but even if Shoaib grabs several five-wicket hauls in English cricket this summer, he’s unlikely to be welcomed back as much as an Andrew Flintoff or a Shane Warne.