Co-cricketer informed PCB about the spot fixing scandal during PSL

The suspension of Pakistani cricketers Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif and Mohammad Irfan has drawn much attention to the Pakistan Super League (PSL) spot-fixing scandal and the investigations that has followed. If reports are to be believed it was a fellow cricketer who prompted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) about the outbreak of the spot-fixing scandal.

It has come in to notice that the cricketer also informed the board about the fact that the three Pakistani players were contacted by bookies. Though the name and the team of the fellow cricketer have been covered. Reports confirm that the PCB’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) braced themselves up and were on high alert after the cricketer presented the information to the board.

This led to the suspension of Sharjeel, Latif and Irfan who were all members of Islamabad United team, from not just the PSL but any cricketing participation. Karachi Kings opener Shahzaib Hasan will also appear before PCB’s ACU for questioning.

The PCB also has plans of taking a statement from Nasir Jamshed while a team composed of PCB ACU chief Colonel Azam and General Manager Legal Salman Naseer will be heading to England. Jamshed was arrested following the incident but got the bail later.

Nasir absolutely blasted the players associated with the spot-fixing scandal by saying that these cricketers are a disgrace to the sport as well as the country’s pride. According to him this is not only about the PCB but also has the country’s honor attached to it. “It is not merely a personal act [on the part of the players],” he said.

Apart from PCB scrutinizing the matter, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is also exploring the issue side by side as reported by the interior minister of Pakistan. “PCB can ban players; it cannot send them to jail or file an FIR against them,” he said, adding that the FIA has been directed to treat the issue as a crime.

If the players are found guilty they are all set to face life bans for breaching the anti-corruption code and meeting a suspicious man linked with the international fixing syndicate.