Batsman Umar Akmal has been banned from all forms of cricket for three years by the Pakistan Cricket Board on corruption charges. The PCB Anti-Corruption officials charged Akmal with two separate cases of not reporting an approach made to him to spot fix matches in the Pakistan Super League’s fifth edition.

 

Umar was provisionally suspended on 20 February and was barred from playing in the Pakistan Super League. He plays for Quetta Gladiators, and has been charged for breaching Article 2.4.4 of PCB’s Anti-Corruption Code. Umar was sent a showcause notice by the PCB and had until March 31 to respond to it, but the 29-year-old decided against challenging it.

 

The matter was then referred to Chairman of the Disciplinary Panel, Justice (retd.) Fazal-e-Miran Chauhan, who is a former Judge of the Lahore High Court.

Opening batsman Sharjeel Khan was the first high-profile cricketer to be banned on a similar charge. Khan was handed a 5-year ban in 2017 for his role in the spot-fixing scandal that left a bad taste in the mouth of the fans. Half of the ban on Khan was later suspended.

 

Several big names like former captain and legendary batsman Javed Miandad have repeatedly asked the PCB to set an example by giving grave punishments, like banishing the fixing-accused players. Miandad went all the way to say that players should even be hanged for bringing their country into disrepute.

“Players who are involved in spot-fixing should be severely punished. Spot-fixers should be hanged because it is similar to killing someone and so the punishment should also be on the same lines. An example should be set so that no player even thinks about doing something like this,” Miandad had said on his YouTube channel.

 

Meanwhile, Umar Akmal’s brother and International cricketer Kamran Akmal has said that Umar will ‘definitely challenge the harsh ban’ imposed on him. “I am definitely surprised at the harsh punishment given to Umar. A three- year ban is very harsh. He will definitely approach every available forum to appeal against this ban,” the wicket-keeper batsman told reporters on Monday in Karachi.

Ramiz Raza, too, has given his opinion on the situation. The former batsman and commentator tweeted in strong words, saying such jack a***s belong behind bars. Earlier this month, Raza had also slammed the PCB for reintegrating Mohammed Amir and Sharjeel Khan into the national team setup, despite their involvement in spot-fixing.

 

 

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