PCB suspends Umar Akmal with immediate effect

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has suspended cricketer Umar Akmal under the anti-corruption code with immediate effect. The exact cause and details of the suspension are still unknown but Akmal will not be able to participate in this year’s Pakistan Super League (PSL) edition that begins on February 20. He is part of the Quetta Gladiators, defending champions from last season.

Article 4.7.1 of PCB’s anti-corruption code has been invoked, according to which the board “shall have the discretion, in circumstances where it considers that the integrity of the sport could otherwise be seriously undermined, to Provisionally Suspend the Participant pending the Anti-Corruption Tribunals determination of whether he/she has committed an offence.

“Any decision to Provisionally Suspend the Participant will be communicated to the Participant in writing, with a copy sent at the same time to the ICC and, where applicable, the National Cricket Federation to which the Participant is affiliated.”

However, only after a board-appointed or independent committee finds the 29-year-old guilty of wrongdoing, shall the above be implemented.

Controversy’s favourite child, Akmal recently made headlines when he exposed himself to a trainer after failing a physical fitness test. The cricketer then asked the trainer, ‘Where is the fat?’, following which the PCB reprimanded him and let him off with a warning.

More to follow…