Daily Times

LAHORE: Nasir Jamshed, the out-of-favour Pakistan opener, has become the third player to be provisionally suspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as it continues its investigation into the corruption scandal that hit the Pakistan Super League this weekend. “The PCB has provisionally suspended Nasir from all forms of cricket for violating its anti-corruption code,” said a statement issued by the PCB on Monday. Unlike Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif – the two Islamabad United players who have already been sent back from the league for alleged breaches of the anti-corruption code – Nasir was not part of any PSL franchise. Nasir’s name had cropped up initially in speculation surrounding the news of Latif and Sharjeel’s suspensions. But the exact nature of his involvement has not been made clear.

The PCB named three other players who were questioned in the fallout: Islamabad United’s Mohammad Irfan, Quetta Gladiators’ Zulfiqar Babar and Shahzaib Hasan of the Karachi Kings. None of them, however, faced the prospect of immediate provisional suspension. Shahzaib’s questioning, according to his team Karachi Kings, was the result of his reporting an approach to the PCB and Quetta are understood to have volunteered Babar for questioning to clear his name as it had also emerged during speculation.

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. Since then, however, a dip in form and confidence has pushed him to the periphery. Between the end of the India series in January 2013 and the start of the 2015 World Cup, Jamshed 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 appearances for Pakistan were miserable ones at the World Cup: he made only five runs in three matches. An indicator of how far he has fallen was evident by his absence from the PSL in both seasons. Overall, Nasir has played two Tests, both against South Africa in February 2013. In 48 ODIs between 2008 and 2015, he scored 1418 runs at 31.51. Jamshed played only 18 T20 internationals, scoring 363 runs.