Former Pakistan captain Younus Khan has voiced his support for Shoaib Akhtar who was handed a defamation notice by the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) legal adviser Tafazzul Rizvi for his recent remarks.

“What a befitting and bitter truth spoken by Shoaib Akhtar,” Younus tweeted. “It takes a backbone to be simply uncompromisingly forthright. It’s time for the Pakistan Cricket Board to honestly evaluate his remarks for the betterment of Pakistan cricket and its players.”

https://twitter.com/YounusK75/status/1255568463411757056

Rizvi has filed a criminal as well as defamation suit against Shoaib Akhtar for the latter’s allegedly inappropriate comments against him in a YouTube show. Akhtar was commenting on the recent sentencing of Umar Akmal when he made the comments which have been deemed inappropriate by Rizvi.

“Let me tell you one thing,” Akhtar said in a video uploaded on the former pacer’s YouTube channel on Tuesday. “PCB’s legal department is extremely incapable and substandard.”

He also raised questions on Rizvi’s credibility as a lawyer, suggesting that the latter had advanced in his career through “contacts”. Miffed with the comments, Rizvi, the long serving legal advisor of the board, has initiated defamation and criminal proceedings against Akhtar.

Earlier, Akhtar had come to the defence of batsman Umar Akmal who has been handed a three-year suspension for not reporting match-fixing approaches.

Akhtar said that the board has vented its anger on the batsman before going on to remark that the punishment was too harsh.

He has also lodged a complaint with the Federal Investigation Agency under its cyber crime laws against the Pakistan legend. In the legal notice sent to the ex-cricketer, Rizvi highlighted legal charges and punishments awarded to the former fast-bowler throughout his career. Rizvi demanded that Shoaib Akhtar retracts his statements, tenders an unconditional apology, pays PKR 100 million in damages and refrains from repeating and making defamatory remarks against the lawyer in the future.

The PCB has also expressed its reservations over the comments, saying that it was disappointed with Akhtar’s “poor choice of words”.

But amidst all these, Younus Khan has made it clear that he is fully behind Akhtar in the entire episode. The legendary batsman took to Twitter to show his support for Akhtar and also asked the PCB to ‘honestly evaluate’ Akhtar’s remarks.