Pakistan Super League Spot-fixing: Khalid Latif likely to be banned

Pakistan cricketer Khalid Latif is likely to be banned from cricket for seven or eight years as he was found guilty in the spot-fixing scam. Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) anti-corruption tribunal is all set to announce its verdict against Khalid Latif in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) spot-fixing case.

Three other cricketers, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Irfan and Shahzaib Hasan have already been found guilty in the same case. Earlier, Sharjeel was banned from all forms of cricket by the tribunal for five years. The cricketer has also decided to appeal the decision of the PCB’s anti-corruption tribunal. The board has decided to come down heavily on the cricketers to avoid any sort of fixing in the future.

Latif is facing six charges against him

The PCB official informed Dawn.com that the tribunal will announce the verdict on Khalid Latif soon and also cleared that six charges have been laid against him which might lead to a longer ban associated with hefty fines. “The tribunal had issued the order about announcement of the decision. Khalid is facing six charges, which is the maximum in number when compared with three other cricketers named in the case. Therefore, [it is likely that] there will be no leniency for him and he will also be fined besides being banned for seven, eight years,” said the official.

He also stated that the case of the guilty Latif is completely different compared to that of the other three cricketers involved in the spot-fixing. “Sharjeel was not fined but the case of Khalid is totally different as he is facing six charges, including that of persuading other cricketers to engage in spot-fixing,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sharjeel Khan who used to open for Pakistan will not be allowed to play any domestic and international cricket and the board will put him under close observation during this period.