Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif presented before PCB's ACU in Lahore

By
Sohail Imran
Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif presented before PCB's ACU in Lahore

DUBAI: Pakistan Cricket Board summoned cricketers Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif to its Lahore office today over the PSL spot-fixing scandal, sources privy to developments informed.  

The two players were presented before the PCB's Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), where their statements will be recorded.

Both Sharjeel and Latif will be charged, PCB chairman Shahryar Khan said while speaking to media earlier today.

The two Islamabad United batsmen met with head of ACU, Colonel Azam, earlier today.

Shahryar Khan said in his talk with the media that the two players will be given 10-15 days to prepare their defense. 

The PCB chairman vowed to hand out the strictest punishment possible to the players involved in fixing during the Pakistan Super League.

“There will be no leniency for the players found involved in fixing. We will give them maximum punishment which will serve as an example to all,” he said.

PCB insiders predict that if both the players are found guilty of spot-fixing, a lifetime ban will be imposed on their international and domestic cricket career. 

The second edition of the Pakistan Super League was hit by a corruption scandal last week, when the PCB provisionally suspended Khalid Latif and Sharjeel Khan on Friday for their suspected links to an international fixing syndicate looking to corrupt Pakistan’s T20 tournament.

Khalid Latif and Sharjeel Khan were sent home the same day and the PCB has issued show cause notices to both the players.

After being sent home from Dubai, Latif has started consultations with lawyers for a legal course of action. He met with a lawyer on Monday for legal counsel.

A highly-placed source told Geo.TV on Sunday that the PCB has enough evidence that the two cricketers agreed to spot fixing in a meeting with the suspected bookie, who has been identified as Yousuf.

On Tuesday, Britain's National Crime Agency informed of arresting two men in their thirties in connection with bribery offences as part of an ongoing investigation into international cricket match spot-fixing.

The British agency said the men were arrested on Monday, but declined to name them. However, sources in PCB and ICC said that the arrested men were former Pakistani batsman Nasir Jamshed and Yousuf.

Sources within PCB told a Geo News correspondent that the arrests have been made in connection with the PSL scandal, which saw Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Lateef getting suspended from the league.