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Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal. Image-Twitter
Umar Akmal. Image-Twitter
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Umar Akmal Allegedly Attacked By Fans At His Residence, Files Complaint

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Umar Akmal has lodged a complaint against at least four fans who he claims had a verbal spat with him, while they were having his autograph. In an interesting turn of events, the cricketer received some of his fans at his Lahore’s Phase 5 residence.

When the fans asked to give an autograph, the Pakistan keeper readily agreed but things intensified quickly and both groups went into a heated debate, as reported by a Pakistan newspaper.

Umar Akmal pays PKR 4.5 million fine, to take part in anti-corruption rehab program (Reuters Photo)
Umar Akmal pays PKR 4.5 million fine, to take part in anti-corruption rehab program (Reuters Photo)

Umar Akmal, Who Lodged A Complaint Against A Few Fans, Had Apologized For Not Reporting Corrupt Approaches

Two of the fans are now under the custody of Lahore Police, it has been learned that one of them holds a British passport. The incident took place when some of the fans were having a selfie, and it was there that it all began. Umar Akmal has represented Pakistan in 16 Tests, 121 ODIs, and 84 T20Is, wherein he managed to score 5,887 runs. These included three centuries and 34 fifties.

Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal has apologised for not reporting corrupt approaches last year, for which the 31-year-old was banned for 12 months.

“Seventeen months ago, I made a mistake which caused damage to my cricket and career. I learnt a lot during this time and due to that mistake, Pakistan cricket’s reputation suffered badly. I ask for forgiveness from the PCB and from cricket fans around the world,” said Akmal in a video released by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). (Photo: Twitter)
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). (Photo: Twitter)

Umar Akmal admitted that the period had been “very difficult for him”.

“Some people approached me but I was unable to report the same to the anti-corruption unit, due to which I had to face a 12-month ban. I couldn’t play cricket despite being a cricketer. I learned a lot during this time and today I confess before all of you that that mistake brought disrepute to Pakistan Cricket.”

The Court of Arbitration for Sport had reduced the ban on Umar Akmal to 12 months but also penalized him with a fine of 4.25 million Pakistani Rupees for breaching the PCB’s Anti-Corruption Code. A Pakistan Cricket Board official was quoted that Umar Akmal might not be able to return to competitive action immediately despite paying the fine.

Since Umar Akmal had already served the 12-month ban after being suspended from February 2020, he was eligible to return to cricket after paying the fine. He has now been cleared to return to cricket, after paying a fine of 4.25 million Pakistani Rupees and agreeing to undergo an education and rehabilitation program.

Umar Akmal Urges Fellow Cricketers To Report Any Suspicious Activities

The right-handed batsman was banned in February 2020 for failure to report approaches related to fixing just before the start of the fifth season of the Pakistan Super League. After apologies to his family, PCB, and cricket fans, Umar Akmal had a message for cricketers.

Umar Akmal of Pakistan. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Umar Akmal of Pakistan. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

“I, Umar Akmal, would like to request all of you, as ambassadors of the sport, to stay away from any suspicious activities. If any suspicious individuals approach you, please report it to the anti-corruption unit in a timely manner so that your record and career remain clean.”

Umar Akmal, who will turn 31 this month, has not played for Pakistan since November 2019 when he last appeared in a T20 series at Lahore against Sri Lanka while his last Test appearance for his country was way back in late 2011 while his last ODI series was in March-April 2019 against Australia.

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Umar Akmal. (Getty Images)
Umar Akmal. (Getty Images)
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Umar Akmal Apologizes For Not Reporting Corrupt Approaches

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Umar Akmal has apologized for not reporting corrupt approaches last year, which led to him being banned for 12 months. Umar Akmal was last year suspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for not reporting spot-fixing approaches made to him before the start of the 2020 PSL.

Claiming to have learned his lessons, the controversial Pakistan batsman has apologized for not reporting corrupt approaches last year, which led to him being banned for 12 months. The 30-year-old keeper was last year suspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). (Photo: Twitter)
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). (Photo: Twitter)

Umar Akmal Asks Forgiveness From The PCB For Not Reporting Corrupt Approaches

The batsman was banned in February 2020 for failure to report approaches before PSL 2020. The Court of Arbitration for Sport had reduced his ban to 12 months but hit him with a fine of 4.25 million Pakistani Rupees for breaching the PCB’s Anti-Corruption Code.

“Seventeen months ago, I made a mistake which caused damage to my cricket and career. I learned a lot during this time and due to that mistake, Pakistan cricket’s reputation suffered badly. I ask for forgiveness from the PCB and from cricket fans around the world,” said Akmal in a video released by the PCB on Wednesday (July 7).

Umar Akmal pays PKR 4.5 million fine, to take part in anti-corruption rehab program (Reuters Photo)
Umar Akmal pays PKR 4.5 million fine, to take part in anti-corruption rehab program (Reuters Photo)

Umar Akmal admitted that the period had been “very difficult for him”.

“Some people approached me but I was unable to report the same to the anti-corruption unit, due to which I had to face a 12-month ban. I couldn’t play cricket despite being a cricketer. I learned a lot during this time and today I confess before all of you that that mistake brought disrepute to Pakistan Cricket.”

The batsman was banned in February 2020 for failure to report approaches related to fixing just before the start of the fifth season of the Pakistan Super League. Tainted Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal paid the hefty fine of PKR 4.5 million to Pakistan Cricket Board making himself eligible to join the anti-corruption rehabilitation program of the cricket board.

Umar Akmal Urges Fellow Cricketers To Report Any Suspicious Activities

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has reduced the ban on Umar Akmal to 12 months but also penalized him with a fine of 4.25 million Pakistani Rupees for breaching the PCB’s Anti-Corruption Code.

Akmal also had a message for fellow cricketers. “I, Umar Akmal, would like to request all of you, as ambassadors of the sport, to stay away from any suspicious activities. If any suspicious individuals approach you, please report it to the anti-corruption unit in a timely manner so that your record and career remain clean.”

File image of Umar Akmal.(AP)
File image of Umar Akmal.(AP)

Umar Akmal has played 16 Tests, 121 ODIs, and 84 T20Is and last played against Sri Lanka in 2019 in a T20I. A Pakistan Cricket Board official was quoted that Umar Akmal might not be able to return to competitive action immediately despite paying the fine. Since Umar Akmal had already served the 12-month ban after being suspended from February 2020, he was eligible to return to cricket after paying the fine.

Umar Akmal, who will turn 31 this month, has not played for Pakistan since November 2019 when he last appeared in a T20 series at Lahore against Sri Lanka while his last Test appearance for his country was way back in late 2011 while his last ODI series was in March-April 2019 against Australia.

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Umar Akmal Kickboxing
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Umar Akmal Appeals Against 18 Month Ban For Not Reporting Corrupting Approaches

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Umar Akmal was banned for three years starting from April by a disciplinary panel having a solitary member of the board after failing to report two approaches by bookies to spot-fix matches in Pakistan Super League in February.

Umar Akmal, the Pakistan batsman on Thursday filed an appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Lausanne to reverse his 18-month ban for not reporting corrupting approaches. Pakistan Cricket Board, on the other hand, appealed in CAS against the reduction of the three-year ban on the wicket-keeper batsman by an independent arbitrator.

PCB
Pakistan Cricket Board. Photo Credit: Getty Images.

Umar Akmal’s Ban Reduced To Half After Initial 3 Years Ban

Former Supreme Court Judge Mr Justice (retd) Faqir Muhammad Khokhar had reduced Umar Akmal’s three-year ban to 18 months. Umar Akmal’s lawyer, however, argued that the verdict can be reversed due to lack of evidence.

Umar Akmal
Umar Akmal. Photo Credit: Getty Images.

PCB banned him from cricket for three years in April after he pled guilty to failing to report corrupt approaches. In July however, his ban was reduced to one and a half years with suspension running from February 2020 to August 2021. In August, PCB appealed the ban reduction to CAS and Umar Akmal appealed to CAS to have his ban overturned.

“They don’t have a single piece of evidence that can prove any wrongdoing. The prosecution was based on a phone call, otherwise there is no document, no bank transaction or anything that can substantiate their claim.”

Earlier, Salman Naseer who is the PCB chief operating officer had called the decision difficult to challenge the independent adjudicator’s verdict.

“It was a difficult decision for us to challenge the independent adjudicator’s decision but after going through the final report we had some concerns and we felt the punishment was not enough as there are two charges of violating the anti-corruption code against Umar,” Naseer had said after the PCB’s appeal in CAS.

At the disciplinary hearing held on 27th April chaired by retired Justice Fazal-e-Miran Chauhan, he appeared without a lawyer and did not pled guilty, but admitted to being approached by two different men on separate occasions but tried to justify the reason behind his non-reportorial to PCB.

Umar Akmal Initially Banned For One Year More Than Mohammad Irfan

Many thought that PCB banned him for three years which was one year more than fellow Pakistani Mohammad Irfan for a similar offence due to lack of remorse on Umar Akmal’s part. But after appealing, his ban was reduced by half.

He is the youngest brother of Adnan and Kamran Akmal who are both wicket-keepers and is the cousin of Pakistan’s batting mainstay, Babar Azam.

umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal
Umar Akmal and Kamran Akmal. Image Credit: Getty Images.

Umar Akmal played his last test in 2011 but continued to play white-ball cricket for the national team and his last T20I and ODI matches were in 2019.

Pakistan’s right-handed wicket-keeper batsman Umar Akmal made his ODI, T20I and Test debut in 2009.  He has so far appeared in 16 Tests, 121 one-dayers and 84 T20Is where he averages less than 36 in all three formats.

He has also played in many franchise T20 teams around the world.

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Umar Akmal
Umar Akmal (Credits: Twitter)
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PCB To Appeal Against Umar Akmal’s Ban Reduction In Swiss court

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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced it will file an appeal in the Swiss Court of Arbitration for Sports against the reduction of Umar Akmal’s ban for breaching its anti-corruption code. Last month, an independent adjudicator had reduced the middle-order batsman’s ban from 36 months to 18 months after the player had appealed the suspension’s length.

In April, PCB’s disciplinary committee had banned him for three years. Umar Akmal was slapped with the ban after he failed to report details of corrupt approaches made to him ahead of this year’s PSL. He did accept then that the incidents which formed the basis of the two charges pressed against him by the PCB had taken place, but pointed out that the circumstances were such that they did not merit reporting to the board.

“The PCB takes matters relating to anti-corruption very seriously and firmly maintains a zero-tolerance approach,” stated an official release from the PCB. “The PCB believes a senior cricketer like Umar Akmal was aware of the consequences after having attended a number of anti-corruption lectures at domestic and international level. He has witnessed the consequences of indulging in corrupt conduct and still failed to report the approaches to the relevant authorities.

“The PCB doesn’t take any pride in seeing a cricketer of Umar’s stature being banned for corruption, but as a credible and respectable institution, we need to send out a loud and clear message to all our stakeholders that there will be no sympathy whatsoever for anyone who breaches the regulations,” added the release.

Umar Akmal
Umar Akmal. Photo Credit: Getty Images.

Umar Akmal’s case was sent directly to the PCB disciplinary panel after he opted to forego the right to a hearing before the anti-corruption tribunal. His decision to forego the right to a hearing before the anti-corruption tribunal meant he was ready to accept whatever sanctions imposed on him by PCB’s disciplinary committee.

But after being banned for three years, he had filed an appeal against the judgement. Consequently, PCB had to assign a retired Supreme Court judge, Faqir Mohammad Khokhar, to hear his appeal. After the first hearing, the judge reduced his ban on compassion. However, the PCB is not impressed with the turn of events and has made it clear it will challenge the reduction of the ban as part of its drive against corruption.

“The PCB, in its commitment and drive against corruption in sports, has already submitted a draft proposal with the relevant government authorities around legislation on criminalising corruption in sports. It has also reviewed the existing legislation enacted within Pakistan whilst noting that the same fail to adequately target and address corruption/illegal manipulation in sports.

“In the draft paper, the PCB has proposed severe sanctions pertaining to corruption, illegal manipulation, betting, match and spot-fixing as well as aiding and abetting such conduct; and proposes the penalties to be imposed on individuals found guilty of engaging in such offences,” stated the release.

Also Read: SRH Enquired About Me, CSK Wanted To Take Me, Says Bangladesh’s Mohammad Saifuddin

Also Read: Misbah-Ul-Haq: Frustrated Like Pakistan Fans After Losing 1st Test Against England

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The Hit And Flop Set Of Brothers In Cricket
The Hit And Flop Set Of Brothers In Cricket
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The Hit And Flop Set Of Brothers In Cricket

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Today, we will talk about the brothers in cricket and will have a look at few set of brothers out of whom one tasted success at an international level whereas the other could not match the shoes of the first one.

The Hit And Flop Set Of Brothers In Cricket

Pathan Brothers

The Hit And Flop Set Of Brothers In Cricket

The brothers and all rounder’s Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan both played international cricket for the Indian cricket team. Irfan, the youngest one played for the country in all three formats of the game whereas Yusuf presence was just limited to the limited-overs cricket. Irfan was younger than Yusuf but still, he went to represent the country much earlier than him. He made his debut in the year 2003. Yusuf came to international arena five years later i.e. in the year 2007.

It can be fairly said that Irfan is more successful of the two brothers considering the fact that he played longer than Yusuf. His batting average is more than that of Yusuf in T20Is. Also, he has 63 ODI’s more than Yusuf.

Though Yusuf was a part of world cup winning team in 2011 he played a minimal role in the success of Indian team whereas Irfan played a crucial role in team India’s win in T20 world cup 2007. Now both the brothers are playing domestic cricket in a hope that they will get a call for the Indian team but now it seems to be a difficult one. In the end, it can be said that Irfan is much more successful and hit than his elder brother Yusuf Pathan.

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Umar Akmal
Umar Akmal. Photo Credit: Getty Images.
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Pakistan Cricketer Umar Akmal’s Suspension Reduced To 18 Months In Corruption Charges

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Pakistan middle-order batsman Umar Akmal’s suspension has been reduced to 1.5 years after the player appealed against the earlier order of banning him for three years in international cricket.

Akmal was held for the corruption charges for not reporting Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) about corrupt approaches ahead of the Pakistan Super League 2020 in February.

Umar Akmal Not Happy with the decision:

Umar Akmal, ban
Umar Akmal. Image Credit: Getty Images.

In a Press release, the PCB had said that the adjudicator, former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, after listening to the arguments of both sides, had reserved judgment on the matter.

However, Umar Akmal is disappointed with the decision and has opined that he would again appeal against the decision. While his lawyer said that the decision was in their favour but was not up to their expectations.

“We will file an appeal to reduce the sentence against the remaining term of the ban,” said Akmal as quoted by The International News. 

Akmal’s career marred with controversies:

Umar Akmal
Umar Akmal. Image Credit: Getty Images.

On April 27 this year, the Chairman of the Disciplinary Panel, Justice (retd) Fazal-e-Miran Chauhan, had banned Umar Akmal for three years after finding him guilty of breaching Article 2.4.4 of the PCB Anti-Corruption Code in two separate incidents.

The chairman in his report had observed in his detailed judgment that Umar Akmal neither was looking guilty nor he sought an apology for failing to report corrupt approaches.

As per reports, Akmal had refused to co-operate with the panel and was giving contradictory statements. Although he had accepted his mistake, he was not ready to disclose the details of two meetings with unknown people in Lahore.

The right-hand batsman has featured in 16 Tests, 121 ODIs and 84 T20s, scoring 1003, 3194, and 1690 runs respectively. He last played for Pakistan in October and was set to play PSL before getting banned.

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umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal
Umar Akmal and Kamran Akmal. Image Credit: Getty Images.
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Kamran Akmal Blames Pakistan’s Team Management For Mishandling His Brother Umar Akmal

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Pakistan’s wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal, who has been out of the national team for a while, has supported his younger brother Umar Akmal. On the other hand, he has accused Pakistan’s team management of not handling his talented brother in the right way.

Pakistan Cricket Board has banned Umar Akmal for three years after he was found guilty of not reporting corrupt approaches ahead of the PSL 2020. However, Umar has appealed against their decision. 

Umar Akmal, PCB, three year ban
Umar Akmal. Photo Credit: Getty Images.

Citing the examples of Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar, who were also surrounded by controversies during their career, Kamran said that Umar could have also passed through controversies if the team management would have handled him differently.

“Off the field activities are nothing new in Pakistan cricket. Team management and captain should know how to deal with such players. Look at the way Inzi bhai (Inzamam-ul-Haq) handled Shoaib (Akhtar), (Mohammad) Asif and Shahid (Afridi). If the same was done with Umar Akmal, things would have turned out differently,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan website.

Kamran Akmal disappointed with selectors: 

Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal
Kamran Akmal. Image Credit: Getty Images.

Kamran Akmal also showed his discontent for being dropped and not giving him another opportunity in the national cricket team. He last played for Green Army in 2017 and was dropped because of his poor wicket-keeping skills though he was decent with the bat. 

“In the recent past, a couple of coaches did not like me which is why I remained on the sidelines. It’s unfair to keep me out of the Test and T20I side, especially, because I can play solely as a batsman. If Matthew Wade can make a comeback with an average of 18-20, why not me who averages nearly 60,” he added.

Kamran Akmal further urged the selectors to choose the player based on performances in domestic cricket rather than just the PSL.

So far, the wicketkeeper-batsman has represented Pakistan in 53 Test matches, 157 ODIs and 58 T20Is, scoring over 7000 international runs. 

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T20 World Cup 2010, Cameron White, Top 5 Batsmen Who Struck Most Sixes In ICC T20 World Cup 2010
Cameron White. Image Credit: Getty Images.
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Top Five Batsmen Who Struck Most Sixes In ICC T20 World Cup 2010

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England laid hands on the coveted trophy of ICC T20 World Cup 2010 after defeating their arch-rivals Australia in the grand finale of the tournament. It was England’s first trophy of ICC tournament. 

The third edition of the ICC T20 World Cup also witnessed several memorable knocks. Mahela Jayawardene and Suresh Raina registering centuries in the tournament are some among them. Other batsmen had prolifically performed to get their hands on trophy but had hard luck.

Here, in this article, we have named the top five batsmen who snared the most number of sixes in the ICC T20 World Cup 2010.

Umar Akmal: 10 sixes

Umar Akmal
Umar Akmal. Image Credit: Getty Images.

Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman Umar Akmal had a promising start of his career but he had several halts throughout because of several controversies. He has been fined for faking an injury while he has also been booked for spot-fixing. Nevertheless, he marked his name in international cricket with his entrance.

Having made the debut in 2009, he was included in Pakistan’s squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2010. Umar also didn’t disappoint the selectors. His power hitting helped the Green Army, who entered the semi-final of the tournament. He struck 10 sixes and six fours in six matches to place himself fifth in this list. 

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Mahela Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene (Image Credit: Twitter)
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2014 T20 World Cup: Top 5 Most Runs Scorers From The Boundaries In An Innings

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When we talks about the T20 cricket, boundaries play the crucial role for the batting side as it is the fastest way to score runs. During the 2014 T20 World Cup (ICC World T20 2014), we experienced a total of 853 fours and 300 sixes.

Some batsmen played the big knocks during the 2014 T20 World Cup with the help of a good number of boundaries.

Here we are talking about the top five batsmen with most runs scorers from the boundaries in an innings during the 2014 T20 World Cup.

Umar Akmal (Pakistan) – 60 runs against Australia (at Dhaka on 23rd March 2014)

Umar Akmal, 2014 T20 World Cup, most runs scorers, boundaries
Umar Akmal (Image Credit: Twitter)

It was the 16th match of the 2014 T20 World Cup (Super 10 Stage). Pakistan cricketer Umar Akmal played the major role in their batting as the right-handed no.4 positioned batsman scored 94 runs off 54 balls after coming to bat when his team was struggling on 25/2 in the fifth over.

During that heroic knock, Umar scored 60 runs from the boundaries with the help of 9 fours and 4 sixes. His batting helped Pakistan to manage the first innings total of 191/5 (20 overs). Later, the Asian side won that match by 16 runs after they bowled out the Aussie team for 175 runs (20 overs).

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Umar Akmal, PCB, Anti-Corruption Code, Pakistan
Umar has been at the wrong end. Photo Credit: Getty Images.
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Umar Akmal’s Hearing To Take Place On June 11: Pakistan Cricket Board

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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has stated that Umar Akmal’s plea against his three-year ban will be heard on June 11. The hearing will be adjudged by former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) Faqir Muhammad Khokhar as an independent adjudicator, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced.

Umar is facing a three-year ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for not reporting corrupt approaches before the start of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Umar Akmal had filed an appeal against the apex body of Pakistan cricket, who would appoint an independent committee to hear the matter. Furthermore, the 29-year old has roped in Babar Law’s Awan firm to help him in the case.

Umar Akmal, Death Rumour, Clarification, Pakistan, National T20 Cup,
Umar wants to make his return with impressive performances. Photo Credit: Getty Images.

Now. PCB has accepted Umar’s challenge and said that his hearing would take place on June 11 in front of a former Supreme Court judge.

PCB To Conduct Umar Akmal’s Hearing On June 11

“Notices for the hearing have been issued to Umar Akmal and PCB,” the cricket board posted on its website.

Asia Cup 2020, Pakistan, PCB
Pakistan Cricket Board. Photo Credit: Getty Images.

The spot-fixing offers were made to Akmal at two separate parties held in Defence Housing Society Lahore. The Disciplinary Panel Chairman Mr Justice (retd) Fazal-e-Miran Chauhan had observed that Akmal was non-cooperative and did not show any remorse.

Umar Akmal Did Not Disclose Details About Bookies

Umar Akmal had refused to disclose the details of his two meetings with the suspected bookies in front of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) disciplinary panel which handed him a three-year ban, according to a source close to the board.

Umar Akmal, Virat Kohli
Umar Akmal (Image Credit: Getty Images)

PCB disciplinary panel said that the cricketer is unprepared to show remorse and seek apology for failing to report corrupt approaches. The PCB had given him 14 days to respond to the charge, but the controversial batsman decided to forego the right to defend himself.

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