Umar Akmal may not end up with an exact 3-year ban: report

Pakistani cricketer Umar Akmal, who was recently slapped with a three-year ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in corruption charges, might end up serving just a fraction of the punishment after the detailed verdict rolls out, India Today reported on Thursday.

Read more: Umar Akmal needs psychiatrist's help to sort discipline issues: Najam Sethi

A source close to PCB told the Indian agency that the short order does not say how much, if any, of the three-year ban is suspended, which leaves the door open that he may only have to serve a year of his ban.

"People are jumping to conclusions about the three-year ban but the detailed order is yet to come out. Akmal might eventually get a three-year ban with two years suspended or something like that," the source informed.

The source added that the suspension would give him some time to reflect upon his past misconducts and possibly give him time to improve.

However, if Akmal slips then he will most definitely be banned for the entire three-year duration.

"He could get a suspended sentence in his three-year ban because this will also test him as an individual to see how he behaves and conducts himself in future," the source said.

"When majority of a ban is suspended, the player has to be careful with his behaviour or he could end up being banned for the entire duration of the ban."

Once the detailed judgment is out, Akmal can then appeal against the panel's decision within 14 days of the hearing. 

Umar Akmal banned for three years from all forms of cricket

The PCB had banned Akmal for three years from all forms of cricket on Monday, finding him guilty on corruption charges.

"Umar Akmal handed three-year ban from all cricket by Chairman of the Disciplinary Panel Mr Justice (retired) Fazal-e-Miran Chauhan," the Pakistan Cricket Board said in a tweet.

Akmal had landed in trouble with the board after he said during an interview that he was offered $200,000 by fixers to leave two deliveries in one of the matches. The cricketer had also claimed that he was offered money to skip matches against India.

“I was once offered $200,000 for leaving two deliveries. I was also offered to skip matches against India,” he had said in the interview.

The batsman also said that he was approached during ICC World Cup, including the 2015 edition played in Australia and New Zealand.

However, Akmal had failed to mention if he had reported this to the anti-corruption unit or not.

According to ICC anti-corruption code 2.4.4 and 2.4.5, players are bound to report all the corrupt approaches made to them during any event and failure of doing so carry a minimum punishment of five years.