Pakistan's Khalid Latif and Sharjeel Khan likely to face life bans

Following the spot-fixing scandal in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) earlier this year in Dubai, Pakistani cricketers Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif are most likely to face life bans.

Addressing the media, one of the sources in the legal department mentioned that about the proceedings about the implementations of the ban on the cricketers.

“We have requested the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) tribunal probing into the spot-fixing scandal to impose a life ban on Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif. We hope that the tribunal will announce the verdict soon as there is nothing left to be further done in the case”- they said

They also mentioned that the case is just a verdict away from the tribunal being closed down. “In the case of Sharjeel, the concluding written arguments have been submitted to the Pakistan Cricket Board tribunal. As far as the PCB lawyers are concerned, we have completed the case and now it is up to the tribunal to announce the verdict and we are expecting that the verdict will come shortly,” they added.

In case you didn’t know

The second edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was marred by spot-fixing issues with several cricketers surfacing during the course of the tournament.

The likes of Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Irfan and Umar Akmal were also alleged to have been involved in tarnishing the sanctity of the sport.

However, due to lack of evidences against them, they have been given the nod to play competitive cricket.

The heart of the matter

Sharjeel Khan and Khaleed Latif were immediately sent back to Pakistan and weren’t allowed to play in the remainder of the tournament with an urgent notice to investigate into the serious matter.

Later on, as per the sources of the PCB legal department, Khalid Latif’s attitude during the trial was highly criticised. According to them, Latif tried to boycott the case and wanted the whole process to be repeated.

What’s Next?

Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif will have their fingers crossed regarding the final verdict, although it is highly likely to go against them.

Author’s Take

Over the years, spot-fixing and match-fixing scandals have become common for Pakistan cricket, which isn’t a good news for them.

It causes a significant waste of talent in the country. Sharjeel Khan is one of Pakistan's most explosive opening batsmen, and it will be a shame if he is not able to represent his country anymore.

It also does not help Pakistan cricket as they are later to find appropriate and effective replacements for the void created by various cricketing scandals.