Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif accept breach of discipline but deny match-fixing

What’s the story?

The suspended Pakistani players, Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif have admitted breach of discipline but they rejected the charges of spot-fixing. The Pakistan Cricket board held a detailed discussion on this matter on March 4th.

A reliable source in the PCB said, “They admitted that they met with a person in Dubai who later turned out to be a bookmaker. They have also admitted that they breached discipline by not informing the team management about their meeting and offers made to them.”

In case you didn’t know...

PCB suspended Sharjeel and Latif provincially on the corruption code charges. The board charged the two players for having met with a bookie, Mohammad Yousuf. The duo did not report the offer made to them and hence are facing the consequences. The two players were sent back home from Dubai on the second day of the PSL on February 10th.

The heart of the matter

On Saturday, the two players filed their response through the lawyers; the response clearly stated that they were not involved in the spot-fixing. But, they admitted to breach of discipline. But the chairman of PCB, Shaharyar Khan said that they have evidence of Sharjeel being involved in a deal with Yousuf in the first match. It will take at least two months for the committee to come up with a verdict.

Nasir Jamshed also remains under investigation for acting as an intermediate between the two players and the bookmaker from the United Kingdom.

What’s next?

The Pakistan Cricket Board will appoint a judge to head the judicial commission in a few days to manage the case. It is very clear of what lies ahead of the players involved in the corruption acts.

Sportskeeda’s Take

Sharjeel, who had an impressive season against Australia recently, has probably put an end to his cricketing career, and Khalid Latif, who has played just five ODIs, may never play for the Pakistan national team. The greed is in no way helping the players who have been suspended.

On the other hand, the anti-corruption unit of the PCB is doing a splendid work in maintaining the law and discipline, and also protecting the integrity of the game.