- Spot-fixing in PSL lands opening batsman in trouble
By NP Sports Reporter
LAHORE: Pakistani cricket’s opening batsman Khalid Latif has been penalised with a ban on playing for five years, by the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) anti-corruption tribunal for his involvement in a spot-fixing scandal in the Pakistan Super League. In its verdict against the suspended opener on Wednesday, the tribunal also fined him PKR 1 million.
The 31-year-old was found guilty of all six charges including that of persuading other cricketers including his teammates Sharjeel and Mohammad Irfan to join him in spot-fixing, thus spoiling the opening day of the PSL in Dubai earlier this year.
The board said Sharjeel and Latif met an alleged bookie and struck a deal. Based on the plan, Sharjeel agreed to play two dot balls after the first over in the match. Although Latif did not play in that game, he was later charged with luring Sharjeel into the deal and not reporting the matter to the PCB anti-corruption unit.
Spot-fixing involves bets on the outcome of specific parts (spots) of the match, unlike match-fixing in which the results of the match are arranged.
Sharjeel was banned for five years in August for his role in the spot-fixing. He will not be able to play domestic or international cricket for half the sentence. The minimum penalty for the charges Latif faced was a six-month suspension and a maximum of a life ban.
Mohammad Irfan, Shahzaib Hasan, Nasir Jamshed and Mohammad Nawaz were included in the investigation but Irfan and Nawaz admitted not reporting the bookie´s offer. Irfan was banned for one year, suspended for six months and fined Rs. 1 million. Nawaz was banned for two months,suspended for one month and fined Rs. 200,000. Both can play again, although the cases against Hasan and Jamshed haven’t been decided yet.
Khalid Latif’s lawyer Badar Alam refused to accept the tribunal’s verdict and said it had no legal value, adding that he would challenge the decision.
Attempts by Latif to challenge the tribunal in the Lahore High Court failed more than once.
