Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal‘s ban period of three years has now been reduced to 18 months. Earlier, Akmal was handed the ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) who found him guilty of breaching Article 2.4.4 of the Anti-Corruption Code on two separate occasions.
Akmal’s career has been marred with controversies due to fitness and disciplinary issues. Now, the 30-year old will face suspension effectively from February 2020 until August 2021.
The development, on Wednesday, is expected to cause some relief to the Lahore-born cricketer. As an independent adjudicator, former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) Faqir Muhammad Khokhar reserved his order on Akmal’s appeal on Monday.
Three months back, on April 27, Justice (retd) Fazal-e-Miran Chauhan, Chairman of the Disciplinary Panel, banned Akmal for not reporting approaches made by spot-fixers during this year’s Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Reportedly, the apex cricketing board in Pakistan is not expected to comment on the matter until the order is made public.
Earlier, former Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur registered his disappointment after hearing the news of Akmal getting banned.
Umar was renowned for having a strained relationship with the ex Pakistan, Australia, and South Africa head coach.
“It’s definitely too late for him [Umar Akmal] now. It’s sad because he is a likeable enough bloke but what he needed was a real firm hand at the start of his career to guiding him properly,” Arthur told Pinch Hitter magazine.
“I don’t think he got the right messages earlier in his career because if he had, he wouldn’t have gone down the route he has chosen to. He was frustrating to work with,” Arthur concluded.
Akmal has remained out of favour from the national plans of PCB for a substantial amount of time now. He made his last appearance for Pakistan back in October last year, during the ODI series against Sri Lanka, where he failed to impress with the bat.
