Khalid, Sharjeel asked to plead guilty for minimum punishment: source

SHARJAH: Two Pakistani cricketers facing charges of spot-fixing in the second edition of Pakistan Super League have been advised to plead guilty if they want to minimise the penalties they are going to face.

A reliable source in PCB confirmed that Khalid Latif, who earlier offered to become an approver, was offered by a top official of the board to confess his mistake and plead guilty. A similar offer has been made to Sharjeel Khan as well.

"If players confess their mistake in hearing and plead guilty, then their penalty is likely to be minimised from what they are going to face," said the source.

The players are likely to receive a formal charge sheet from the board on Friday.

PCB, on Friday, suspended the cricketers for their alleged links with an international syndicate that attempted to corrupt the Pakistan Super League.

A formal charge sheet is being prepared by the PCB against the two national cricketers for spot-fixing in Pakistan Super League, reliable sources told geo.tv.

A highly-placed source told geo.tv on Sunday that the PCB has enough evidence that two cricketers agreed to spot fixing in meeting with the suspected bookie, who is named as Yousaf.

"We have good evidence against these two," said the source on condition of anonymity, adding that one player quickly reported the approach to the board while two others remained silence, but they didn't agree to the offer.

On Saturday, PSL chairman Najam Sethi said an inquiry into Sharjeel Khan and Khalif Latif being linked to an international syndicate trying to corrupt Pakistan’s T20 league will take 10-15 days.

“The matter will move forward after the inquiry is complete,” Sethi said.