The game of cricket has been ashamed once again as the Pakistan Cricket Board has found Pak cricketer Sharjeel Khan guilty of being involved in spot-fixing during the Pakistan Super League which was played earlier this year.
He was booked for five charges which were concerned with the breaches of anti-corruption code of PCB and all the charges were found to be true. Sharjeel has been banned for 5 years, out of which 2.5 years is the suspended sentence which will be counted from February 10, 2017, when he was suspended for the first time.
As per reports, the cricketer may file an appeal against the decision and may also return to play after a ban period of 30 months, only if he fulfills some conditions.
Last One day International played by Sharjeel was against Australia on 26th Jan, 2017. He played a wonderful knock of 79 (69) as an opener. In PSL, he played for Islamabad United and was sent home immediately after he was found guilty of spot-fixing. His teammate Khalid Latif was also suspended with him.
A three-member tribunal was formed to look into the matter, which included Waseem Bari, the former test cricketer, former PCB Chairman Lt Gen (R) Tauqir Zia and Asghat Haider, the head of the tribunal. Asghat said,
“Sharjeel is banned for five years, which has two-and-a-half year suspended, after the proceedings of the case.”
This panel came into place as many allegations were made about spot-fixing during PSL 2017.
It is said that Sharjeel has accepted the charges and confirmed that he didn’t try to score on two balls intentionally during a match; however, no fine has been charged on him.
This edition of PSL was flooded with controversies as cricketers Shahzaib Hasan and Nasir Jamshed are also booked for the same charges while Mohammad Irfan, the former pacer, is undergoing a ban of six months as he didn’t report an approach to PCB. He was also suspended for six months and a fine of Rs. 10 lakhs was imposed on him.
It is a matter of shame that they have broken the trust of their fans and cricket lovers.
