Crestfallen Pakistan opener Sharjeel Khan, who was touted as next big thing for the Men in Green, has been banned for five years by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) elected three-member committee after being found guilty in the Pakistan Super League spot-fixing scandal.
The 28-year-old Hyderabad-born left-handed batsman Sharjeel was handed over a lengthy ban by the Anti-Corruption Unit of the Board after he was grilled by the PCB.
As the verdict was scheduled for August 30 (Wednesday), Sharjeel has now become the third player in the case who has been awarded a ban by the judiciary after fast bowler Mohammad Irfan and all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz for violating the rules of the Code of Conduct.
Earlier, in February, the reports surfaced that during the second edition of the PSL in the United Arab Emirates, the international booking syndicates were enforcing the players to corrupt the games, as Sharjeel was charged alongside five other cricketers including top-order batsman Khalid Latif, Nasir Jamshed, Shahzaib Hasan, Mohammad Irfan and Mohammad Nawaz.
Following the ban, the explosive batsman Sharjeel has been barred from playing any form of cricket including the domestic fixtures.
Sharjeel, who has been charged under a different clause, is bound to stay off-the-field for period 30-odd months, before he would be given a chance to appear in the domestic competition, in a bid to serve the completion of the ban.
(Read Also: PSL Spot-Fixing: Sharjeel Khan Khalid Latif Likely to Face Lengthy Bans and Hefty Fine)
Following the successful grand finale at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on March 5, PCB which has shown a strict side and came down hard at the corrupt practices.
The Board formed a committee headed by the former Justice Asghar Haider of Lahore High Court, as the two other members included former Pakistan skipper Wasim Bari and ex-PCB chief retired Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, in order to investigate the matter thoroughly without any external pressure.
On the other side, the tribunal is also hearing the cases of Khalid, Jamshed, and Hasan, who have had after violated the corruption code of the Board by meeting bookmakers, according to the evidence presented before the tribunal.
Earlier, Sharjeel and Khalid were sent home to investigate the spot-fixing saga, as both have been the part of the PSL franchise Islamabad United.
The international batsman for Pakistan, Sharjeel featured in 25 One-day Internationals for Pakistan followed by 15 Twenty20 Internationals and a solitary Test.
Sharjeel scored 812 in ODIs at the average of 32.48 and 360 in the 20-over format, before making his appearance in the longer version of the game against.