Cricket-ICC interview Pakistan's Shoaib over corruption claims

KARACHI, April 8 (Reuters) - Pakistan's banned fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar has been interviewed by the International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption Unit, team sources said on Tuesday.

The ICC and the Pakistan Cricket Board declined to comment on the development, which comes a week after Shoaib claimed in a television interview to have several times been offered money to underperform but rejected them for the love of his country.

Nuruddin Khawaja, ACU security officer in Pakistan, said only the ICC was authorised to comment while an ICC spokesman said: "We don't comment on the activities of the ACUSU".

Sources said an investigating officer interviewed Shoaib and some other players with the assistance of Khawaja. The officer arrived two days ago and would now submit a report to the ACU.

Shoaib said in his television interview that he got offers in South Africa and India and back in 2003 was offered bags of money but told the man to get out of his room.

His comments came one day after he was banned for five years by the PCB for several violations of discipline.

He has filed an appeal against the ban which will be heard by a tribunal headed by a former Lahore High Court judge.

Under the ICC Code of Conduct a player who fails to report an approach to fix games or underperform to his captain, team manager, board or the ACU can be banned for one to five years.

Since banning Shoaib last week the PCB said he could face an ICC investigation over his claims, with chairman Nasim Ashraf saying Shoaib had never spoken to the board about his claims.