Reacting immediately to Sharjeel Khan’s appeal for his five-year ban due to the spot-fixing scandal in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to challenge the anti-corruption tribunal’s sentence. The cricket board thinks that the five-year ban for the batsman is too lenient and has appealed for a stiffer sentence.
Najam Sethi, the PCB chairman, confirmed the developments on Twitter.
“PCB has appealed the sentence imposed on Sharjeel by the Tribunal and is seeking a stiffer sentence,” Sethi tweeted.
PCB has appealed the sentence imposed on Sharjeel by the Tribunal and is seeking a stiffer sentence.
— Najam Sethi (@najamsethi) September 21, 2017
PCB’s decision came after Sharjeel’s lawyer Shaighan Aijaz confirmed that the batsman has appealed his ban.
“Today, we have filed our appeal against the verdict of the anti-corruption tribunal at PCB office which will forward it for appointment of an independent adjudicator,” Aijaz confirmed. “We have challenged the verdict on all five accounts as we believe that the decision was based on speculations and our arguments and cross-examinations were not properly considered.”
Last month, the PCB-appointed Anti-Corruption Unit had awarded the left-handed batsman a five-year ban half of which was suspended for his involvement in the PSL spot-fixing case. Sharjeel, who plied his trade for Islamabad United before being suspended midway through the season, was found guilty on five counts of PCB’s Anti-Corruption Code.
Along with Sharjeel, four other players- Khalid Latif, Mohammad Irfan, Nasir Jamshed and Shahzaib Hasan- also came under the tribunal’s scanner for their alleged role in the spot-fixing scandal. While Irfan was recently cleared of all the charges after serving a six-month ban, Latif was awarded a five-year ban and a hefty fine by the board after being found guilty of six charges.
Meanwhile, the PCB will now appoint an independent adjudicator to hear both the appeal of the player and the board.