Spot-fixing: Pakistan’s Sharjeel Khan banned for five years

Pakistan batsman Sharjeel Khan was on Wednesday handed a five-year ban by the anti-corruption tribunal of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for his role in a spot-fixing scandal during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in February this year.

Sharjeel was banned for breaching five clauses of the anti-corruption code of the PCB.

A short order released by the tribunal said that Sharjeel would serve the five-year ban in two phases with two-and-a- half years being a suspended sentence to be served under observation of the PCB.

The ban is effective from February 10 this year when he was first suspended and sent back from Dubai on spot-fixing charges along with another Pakistan player Khalid Latif.

The punishment imposed by the



tribunal, headed by a former Lahore High Court judge Justice Asghar Haider means that Sharjeel, 28, can revive his career after two years.

“We are okay with the decision and like I had said, the PCB was unable to produce sufficient evidence to convince the tribunal that my client did indeed do spot-fixing,” his lawyer, Shaighan Ejaz told the media.

Sharjeel, who has played in one Test, 25 One-dayers and 25 T20 matches was hailed as a “Warner” for Pakistan by former head coach, Waqar Younis who said he was very disappointed after learning about Sharjeel’s PSL fixing issue.

The tribunal’s decision is as a setback for the PCB which had repeatedly claimed to have sufficient evidence against Sharjeel and Khalid Latif in the case.