Daily Times

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday issued a notice of charge to Nasir Jamshed, who is presently based in Birmingham, for violation of the board’s rules. The former cricketer, who has been accused of violating Articles 2.4.6 and 2.4.7 of the PCB Anti-Corruption Code, has been asked to respond within 14 days. Nasir has been charged with obstructing and failing to cooperate in an investigation into a spot-fixing case which rocked the Pakistan Super League last month. Those charges stem from unsuccessful efforts the PCB claims to have made to try and meet or communicate with Nasir – two officials were in the United Kingdom recently but were unable to meet him.

Nasir, 27, is the fifth player charged in the scandal which saw a one-year ban – six months suspended – and a fine meted out to fast bowler Mohammad Irfan last month. Three other players – Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif and Shahzaib Hasan – will fight the allegations before a three-member tribunal headed by a retired Lahore High Court judge.

“We have charged Nasir with refusal to appear before us to answer our questions and obstructing the cause of our inquiry. That means suspension will continue and we will punish him via our disciplinary committee,” said a senior PCB official.

The official added the punishment can be six months to lifetime suspension and in the near future the board would charge him on other counts too.

The PCB has also referred batsman Shahzaib Hasan to the anti-corruption tribunal. The official said the investigations would continue “with regard to any potential breaches of the PCB Anti-Corruption Code will carry on as PCB continues with its relentless commitment to uproot the menace of corrupt practices from the game of cricket.”

Nasir and another man were arrested and then released on bail in Britain amid an investigation into alleged spot-fixing in the Pakistan Super League. Nasir was suspended in February from competing in any form of cricket. Nasir is allegedly a ‘link between the bookies and players.’ He denies the charges. Sharjeel and Khalid appeared before the tribunal last month and have until May 5 to respond to the charges. The tribunal is set to start day-to-day proceedings from May 19. Irfan confessed to “not reporting a fixing offer” and opted for “agreed sanction.”

Not that long ago, Nasir was Pakistan’s first-choice opener in limited-overs cricket, and with three ODI hundreds against India between March 2012 and January 2013, one with a potentially long career ahead of him. Thereafter, however, a dip in form and confidence led to his ouster. Between the end of the India series in January 2013 – a peak in his short career – and the start of the 2015 World Cup, Nasir scored 458 runs at an average of 19.91 with only two fifties, featuring in 23 of Pakistan’s 50 ODIs in this period. Before this, he had averaged 50.26 in 22 ODIs since his debut, scoring 955 runs, with three centuries and six fifties. His last appearance for Pakistan was at the World Cup where he only made five runs in three matches. So poor has his form been that he was not picked for either season of the PSL. Nasir has also played two Tests, both against South Africa in February 2013.

It’s not the first time Pakistan cricketers have been embroiled in corruption controversies. In 1999 Salim Malik and Ataur Rehman were banned for life following a match-fixing investigation. In 2010 three players Mohammad Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were suspended for five years for their involvement in the bowling of deliberate no-balls at pre-determined times during a Test match in England.