Daily Times

KARACHI: Silence on the matter of Ahmad Shahzad’s dope test has raised doubts over the transparency of the issue by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Last month, media reports suggested that Shehzad was tested positive for banned substance ‘marijuana’ and was expected to receive at least three months ban. However, the matter has not processed forward and no show cause notice has been sent to the opener till date. According to sources, there are ‘influential’ people who are trying to save opener’s career and therefore the board’s silence is creating doubts on the transparency of the matter.

When asked about the progress on the matter, a PCB official was quoted as saying Saturday that the board cannot disclose the name of the player as the matter is being overlooked by an independent panel, and the board will further proceed once they will get the response.

Another matter which is undergoing suspicious silence from the PCB is batsman Umar Akmal’s revelation about spot-fixing offer. The middle-order batsman recently revealed in an interview that he was offered $200,000 to leave two balls in the match against India during 2015 ICC World Cup clash. After that, Akmal was interviewed by PCB’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) head Colonel (retd) Azam for two hours, but so far no progress has been seen in this regard as well. Azam is with the Pakistan team in Zimbabwe at the moment, whereas Akmal is waiting for the visa to travel to Canada to participate in the GT20 league.

Published in Daily Times, July 8^th 2018.