Sharjeel Khan banned for five years

Former Pakistan opener Sharjeel Khan has been handed a five-year ban from all forms of cricket by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) . He was found guilty of spot-fixing in the second edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) this year.

The Anti-Corruption Tribunal (ACT) appointed by the PCB was investigating the spot-fixing case of Khalid Latif, Mohammad Irfan, Nasir Jamshed, Shahzaib Hasan and Sharjeel Khan.

Out of the five, Sharjeel has been banned for five years without any monetary fine.

The 28-year-old batsman was facing five counts of breaches of PCB’s anti-corruption code and was found guilty on all of those charges.

Sharjeel can return to cricket after serving a 2.5 year ban but only after satisfying the prerequisites laid out by the PCB.

“Sharjeel is banned for five years, which has two-and-a-half year suspended, after the proceedings of the case,” said Asghat Haider, who is the head of the ACT, which investigated the case.

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According to reports, the player accepted the allegations that he played out two dot balls on purpose during a match in the PSL.

He represented Islamabad United in the PSL and was sent home from the UAE after the allegations of spot-fixing. He was then suspended along with team-mate Khalid Latif.

Latif, who did not play in the game, was alleged to have arranged the deal.

The PSL was tainted with numerous controversies this year and many players have been accused of spot-fixing.

Shahzaib Hasan and Nasir Jamshed are facing similar charges as Sharjeel. Former fast bowler, Mohammad Irfan, was banned for a period of six months for his failure to report an approach to the PCB.

Along with the ban, the fast bowler was charged with a fine of one million rupees.

Sharjeel’s ban will take effect from when he was first suspended, on February 10, 2017. He used to open the batting for Pakistan in ODIs and has scored 812 runs at an average of 32.48 in 25 matches.