KABUL – Afghanistan wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad has been fined after hewas caught playing for a Pakistani cricket club without permission, anAfghan official said Monday.

Shahzad has been ordered to pay 300,000 Afghanis (about $4,400) and returnto Afghanistan after taking part in a local tournament in Peshawar, aPakistani city near the Afghan border. The 30-year-old went to Pakistanafter Afghanistan returned from Zimbabwe last month following theirqualification for the 2019 World Cup, Lutfullah Stanikzai, head of mediaand marketing for the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), told AFP.

Rules require players to obtain a “no objection certificate” if they wantto play matches other than those approved by the ACB.

This is not the first time that Shahzad has fallen foul of regulations.

He was suspended for two matches in Zimbabwe for slamming his bat on thepitch after being dismissed in a qualifying match.

That incident came three months after the big-hitter returned from aone-year doping ban.

Shahzad has to to India for a training camp before Afghanistan’s seriesagainst Bangladesh and a Test match against India in June, Stanikzai said.

“If this is repeated again, next time he might be banned from playingcricket,” Stanikzai added.

The ACB has also ordered players living abroad, mainly in Pakistan, toreturn to Afghanistan if they want to continue playing for the nationalside.

“We have a strong structure for our domestic cricket so we do not see theneed for people to go and play for clubs outside Afghanistan,” Stanikzaisaid.