Karachi, Apr 15: Pakistan Cricket Board has been rapped on the knuckles by the chairman of the tribunal that will hear the appeal of fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar for delaying the proceedings on the matter.

The three-member appellate tribunal, headed by justice Aftab Farrukh, a retired judge of the Lahore High Court, will hold the first hearing on April 17 on Akhtar`s appeal which challenged the five year ban imposed on him by the PCB.

But, this was not before justice Farrukh sent a letter to the secretary of the PCB chairman stating that he was not happy with the delay on part of the board in completing the proceedings of the hearing.

"Perhaps your staff may not be aware or conscious of their conduct in judicial/quasi judicial proceedings. They will be well advised to maintain their attitude as reserve and formal while giving the appellate tribunal the due dignity and respect," he wrote in the letter.

Justice Farrukh also said in the letter that the delay in providing the impugned judgement of disciplinary committee to Akhtar`s lawyers smacked of official red tape culture in the PCB offices and this has also contributed in delaying the proceedings.

PCB officials now confirmed that the judgement copy had now been delivered to Akhtar`s lawyers.

The five-year ban on the fast bowler has spiraled into a major issue in the country with the senate standing committee on sports also holding a hearing yesterday in Islamabad in which the PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf and Akhtar appeared to respond to queries from the senators.