Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar on Tuesday (May 12) responded to the defamation notice sent to him by PCB’s legal advisor Tafazzul Rizvi, calling it "legally defective, merit-less and misconceived".

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The Rawalpindi Express also called for an apology from Rizvi for trying to "publicly humiliate, degrade, defame and ridicule" him.

"Whatever I said on my channel was for betterment off Pakistan cricket and to point out to the board where it needed to put things right. Whatever I said about Rizvi was based on my personal interaction with him," Akhtar quoted as saying by PTI.

"My comments about PCB & Mr. Rizvi are expression of opinion given in public interest to point out shortcomings in PCB with hope for improvement," Shoaib also wrote on Twitter.

Last month, PCB had imposed a three-year ban on Umar Akmal for not reporting a fixing offer. Subsequently, Shoaib Akhtar uploaded a video on his YouTube channel and slammed the board for not taking strict action against tainted players in the past. He also termed PCB’s legal team as incompetent.

Akhtar’s remarks didn’t go down well with Rizvi as he initiated defamation and criminal proceedings against the ex-pacer.

Rizvi has demanded an unconditional apology and compensation of Rs 10 million to be donated to a charity. But Akhtar has refused to backtrack from his statement and is willing to fight the case.

The PCB, in a statement, had said it was disappointed with Shoaib Akhtar’s poor choice of words.

“The language used by Akhtar was highly inappropriate and disrespectful, and cannot be condoned in any civilised society. The PCB’s legal advisor, Taffazul Rizvi, in his own discretion, has initiated defamation and criminal proceedings against Shoaib Akhtar, while the PCB too reserves its rights.”