Daily Times

LAHORE: Suspended left-handed batsman Nasir Jamshed on Friday opened up about the inquiry taking place in the United Kingdom against him regarding his involvement in Pakistan Super League (PSL) spot-fixing scandal. The 27-year-old was suspended from all cricketing activities by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) due to a violation of the anti-corruption code following his arrest in the UK by the National Crime Agency (NCA) alongside a bookie. The duo were released on bail and were asked to report back in April. Reports regarding his disappearance were then being circulated in the mainstream media, however, in a recently released video message, Nasir put to rest all such rumours against him.

Nasir says he is willing to cooperate with the PCB’s inquiry into the PSL corruption investigation. But he wants the board to wait until an ongoing investigation by the NCA emanating from the same case comes to an end. Earlier this week the PCB charged Nasir with two violations of their anti-corruption code, for obstructing and not cooperating with their investigation. He has been given 14 days to respond.

In a video message circulated in Pakistan, Nasir said that once the NCA investigation ends, he would present himself as and when required by the PCB.

“I have no control over what is being said in the media,” said Nasir from his England residence. “I have neither changed residences, nor am I hiding from anyone. I am completely ready to cooperate with the PCB. My only request is to let the NCA inquiry being conducted to reach its conclusion first. This is something the PCB had stated itself, when they stopped an FIA inquiry. I believe that too. First the NCA inquiry should be completed. The PCB has stated itself that they are in regular contact with the NCA, and are fully aware of the inquiry. Once it ends, I will present myself as and when the PCB requires me to.”

But the PCB has turned down Nasir’s request that he be allowed time to respond to an investigation into his alleged involvement in the PSL spot-fixing case. A PCB official said Friday that the board had already charged Nasir for not cooperating in the PSL spot-fixing scandal and that, as a Pakistan cricketer, he was bound to answer to the PCB in the ongoing investigation. “Charge sheet for not appearing has already been issued to him. He must give an extraordinary reason for refusing to attend. If the reason is not good enough, we will approach the tribunal to punish him,” he added.

The PCB believes Nasir to be a central figure in its investigations into attempts to corrupt the second edition of the PSL, in which several other Pakistan players have been charged. But charges were laid against him after the board claimed it had been unable to speak to Nasir – a PCB official was in the UK recently but was unable to meet him. Nasir, who is based in Birmingham, had informed the PCB through his lawyer about his inability to travel to Pakistan because his passport has been confiscated by the NCA. Parallel to the PCB’s investigation, Pakistan’s Federal Investigative Agency has also launched an inquiry against the players charged by the Pakistan board. The country’s interior minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, has placed the four players provisionally suspended by the PCB – Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Irfan and Shahzaib Hasan – on an exit control list, preventing them from leaving the country.