Pakistani cricketer Omar Akmal banned for 3 years, hid fixer from board

Pakistani cricketer Omar Akmal

Umar Akmal was suspended shortly before the start of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020. Then his team Quetta Gladiators were to compete against Islamabad.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has banned batsman Umar Akmal for three years. 29-year-old Akmal will no longer represent the team in all three formats for the next three years. Two months ago, the PCB's disciplinary committee was investigating the allegations of match-fixing against him. Akmal last represented the team in a T20 match against Sri Lanka in Lahore in October 2019.

However, the PCB did not reveal specific reasons for starting the investigation against Akmal. In February this year, an investigation was launched against him due to two violations of Article 2.4.4 of the Board's Anti-Corruption Code. The PCB gave information about the ban on Akmal by tweeting. "Omar Akmal has been banned for three years from all formats of cricket on behalf of Justice (Retd) Fazal-e-Meeran Chauhan, chairman of the disciplinary panel," the board said.

Pakistani cricketer Omar Akmal banned for 3 years, hid fixer from board

Umar Akmal was suspended shortly before the start of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020. Then his team Quetta Gladiators were to compete against Islamabad. He is the younger brother of former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and a relative of current captain Babar Azam. Kamran has played 53 Tests, 58 T20s and 157 ODIs for Pakistan. On the other hand, Umar has played 16 Tests, 121 ODIs and 84 T20 matches. He has scored 1003 Tests, 3194 ODIs and 1690 runs in T20s.

Umar Akmal scored a century against New Zealand in his very first Test. He was then described as the star of the future. However, he did not maintain consistency in his performance. Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad was upset with the constant controversies in the PCB. He had said that whoever indulges in corruption in this game should be hanged. He said, "Cricketers involved in fixing should be punished severely." The board should set an example and hang such wrongdoers.