Daily Times

Pakistan’s controversial batsman Umar Akmal on Monday was handed a three-year ban from all forms of cricket after he was found guilty of failing to report fixing approach to the relevant authorities. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) disciplinary panel found him guilty of breaching the country’s Anti-Corruption Code. The decision was announced by Justice (r) Fazal-i-Miran Chauhan, the chairman of the disciplinary panel. Umar, who turns 30-year-old next month, has played in 200 internationals across three formats of the game since 2009. Umar’s ban is effective from February 20, when he was provisionally suspended by the PCB before the start of Pakistan Super League (PSL) V earlier this year under its Anti-Corruption Code, which states a player must report being approached to fix games. Umar was charged with two breaches of PCB’s Anti-Corruption Code on March 20. The charges come under Article 2.4.4, which deals with: “Failing to disclose to the PCB Vigilance and Security Department (without unnecessary delay) full details of any approaches or invitations received by the Participant to engage in Corrupt Conduct under this Anti-Corruption Code.”

Umar’s case had gone directly to the PCB disciplinary panel after he opted to forego the right to a hearing before the anti-corruption tribunal, where he could have pleaded his innocence and contested the charges. His decision not to do that meant that he would accept whatever sanctions the disciplinary committee chairman imposed on him. Umar represented himself at the hearing, while the PCB was represented by its lawyer Taffazul Rizvi. Afterwards, a PCB statement said that Akmal had been heard “at length” before the verdict was passed. “He cannot play cricket at any level now. The detailed verdict will be issued by the panel later,” the PCB statement added. While Umar has never before been sanctioned for breaching any Anti-Corruption Codes, this might not be the first time he had faced a corrupt approach. In 2018, he claimed in a TV interview that he had been offered money to spot-fix at the 2015 World Cup, separately claiming that he had also been made an offer to skip certain key matches against India. “I was approached by bookmakers during the 2015 World Cup to leave two balls for $200,000. That offer was just one of many he had been approached with over the years,” Umar had said.

It wasn’t clear whether Umar had reported these alleged approaches to anti-corruption authorities, but he has never before faced sanctions from either the PCB or the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the same. Lt Col Asif Mahmood, PCB’s director of anti-corruption and security, said in a statement: “The PCB doesn’t take any pleasure in seeing a promising international cricketer being declared ineligible for three years on corruption charges, but this is once again a timely reminder to all who think they can get away by breaching the anti-corruption code. The anti-corruption unit regularly holds education seminars and refresher courses at all levels to remind all professional cricketers of their obligations and responsibilities. And even then, if some cricketers decide to take the Code into their own hands, this is how things will pan out. I request all professional cricketers to stay away from the menace of corruption and immediately inform relevant authorities as soon as they are approached. This is in their as well as their teams’ and country’s best interest.”

Umar burst onto the scene with a century in his first Test in 2009, but his career has been marred by disciplinary problems, resulting in various bans and fines. He was arrested in February 2014 after a scuffle with a traffic warden who stopped him for a signal violation. In September 2017, he copped a three-month ban for publicly criticising then Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur, and earlier this year, he was reprimanded by the PCB for misbehaving after failing a fitness test, reportedly exposing himself to a trainer in frustration at one point. Umar last represented Pakistan in two Twenty20 internationals against Sri Lanka in Lahore last year, falling to first ball ducks on both occasions. He has so far played 16 Tests, 121 one-day games and 84 Twenty20s for Pakistan. The ban comes as the most significant setback to highly talented Umar, whose career has been littered with ups and downs.