Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan on Wednesday called off a round-table conference with former cricketers and experts, which was to be held in Lahore in March to address the mounting woes of the national team, to instead deal with a scandal that has rocked Pakistan cricket. The PCB will be focusing its attention on the Pakistan Super League (PSL) spot-fixing fiasco, which has seen Islamabad United’s Sharjeel khan and Khalid Latif suspended and formal proceedings initiated against them. Speaking to media in Lahore, the chairman clarified that if the accused players did not confess, a trial court would be held by the PCB’s anti-corruption unit (ACU) and a sitting judge would decide their fates. He also said that the two players accused of match fixing, Sharjeel and Khalid, would be given one to two weeks to present their statements, after which the board would bring formal charges. “We will give evidence to them which we have against them … it’s necessary to give them a chance.” Shaharyar said the PCB was aware of the fact that bookmakers were targeting players in the PSL and that was the reason players were briefed before the inaugural match between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi on Feb 9 in Dubai. The chairman also rubbished any doubts of the board adopting leniency in the matter, and clarified that in case the duo are found guilty, then the PCB would levy the maximum possible punishment as a deterrent.