COURTESY BY: https://www.cricingif.com/
Umar Akmal has been found guilty of two breaches of Article 2.4.4 of the PCB Anti-Corruption Code in two unrelated incidents, the PCB announced on Friday.
The relevant article of the Anti-Corruption Code concerns “failing to disclose to the PCB Vigilance and Security Department (without unnecessary delay) full details of any approaches or invitations received by the Participant to engage in Corrupt Conduct under this Anti-Corruption Code”.
The punishment imposed on Umar could range from a period of ineligibility for six months to a lifetime ban if his actions are deemed serious enough.
The middle-order batsman was earlier provisionally suspended hours before the commencement of the Pakistan Super League on February 20, effectively ruling him out of the tournament.
According to the cricket board’s media release, he was “issued the Notice of Charge on Tuesday, 17 March” and has been given two weeks’ time [until March 31] to respond to the charges.
Umar’s topsy-turvy cricketing career has seen him embroiled in several disciplinary issues, which has often derailed his progress at the highest level. The 29-year-old last donned the national jersey during the Sri Lanka T20I series in Lahore in October 2019 where he perished for two first-ball ducks.
Last month, he was reprimanded by the PCB for exposing himself to his fitness trainer after failing a skin-fold test at the National Cricket Academy, Lahore.
He was set to feature for defending champions Quetta Gladiators in the now-postponed HBL PSL before being charged with failure to report corrupt approaches to authorities.
