Umar Akmal’s suspension reduced to 18 months from 3 years

LAHORE: Batsman Umar Akmal’s three-year suspension, which was slapped on him by the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) Disciplinary Panel for not reporting approaches by corrupt elements, has been reduced to 18 months.

The PCB had imposed a three-year-ban on Akmal after he had violated the Article 2.4.4 of the PCB's code of conduct on two occasions.

Speaking to the media after his appearance in front of the disciplinary panel, Akmal said he was thankful that his suspension was reduced and that he would appeal again to get the remaining suspension further reduced.

“I am not happy with the year-and-a-half suspension. Will appeal after consulting my lawyers,” the 30-year-old said.

Akmal in an interview had said that he was offered $200,000 by fixers to leave two deliveries in one of the matches. He 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 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.