Umar Akmal’s ban halved to 1.5 years by independent adjudicator

Akmal was banned for three years for not reporting corrupt approaches ahead of PSL 2020.

Pakistani batsman Umar Akmal received a huge reprieve when his three-year ban for not reporting corrupt approach was halved to 1.5 years by an independent adjudicator, retired Supreme Court judge, Faqir Mohammad Khokhar.

The batsman attended the hearing in person to hear his judgment, and with the reduced ban, he will remain suspended effectively from February 2020 till August 2021.

Akmal was suspended from all cricket in April this year for failing to report corrupt approaches ahead of the PSL 2020. He was also not allowed to participate in the T20 league.

Umar Akmal refuses to disclose details of two meetings with suspected bookies: PCB sources

He did accept then that the incidents which formed the basis of the two charges pressed against him by the PCB had taken place, but pointed out that the circumstances were such that they did not merit reporting to the board. Each charge carried a three-year ban which was running concurrently.

Umar officially appealed against the ban in May, challenging the length of the statement. He pointed out that previously other players were also found guilty of the same offense, but got lesser punishments. He gave examples of Mohammad Irfan who was banned in 2017 for six months, and Mohammad Nawaz was given a two-month ban.

But it had emerged that he had been handed the stiffer-than-expected penalty for failing to show sufficient remorse.

(ESPNCricinfo.com inputs)