• Spot-fixing claims hang over Pakistan’s Umar Akmal

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    Umar Akmal has been asked by the Pakistan Cricket Board for more details about a spot-fixing approach during the 2015 World Cup.

    Akmal told Samaa TV that he had been offered money to ‘leave two balls alone’ during the 2015 World Cup. He has since been served notice by the PCB, who have requested that he meet with their anti-corruption unit in Lahore this week to discuss the comments he made.

    ‘I had got an offer during the World Cup to leave two balls alone and they were willing to pay me $200,000 for that,’ said Akmal said in the TV interview. ‘It was our first match against India in the 2015 World Cup… in fact, every match I play against India, they offer me money to make some excuse and opt out of the game. But I have told those people that I am very sincere about playing for Pakistan and to not talk to me on this topic ever again.’

    The problem for Akmal would be if he failed to report the approach, as such failure is also a punishable offence under PCB and ICC rules.

    ‘The ICC is aware of a recent interview given by Umar Akmal. Whilst we note that there is no suggestion that any ‘fix’ actually took place, the ICC is reliant on players to report any corrupt approaches in a timely manner. This is critical to our efforts to gather information on potential ‘fixers’ and to disrupt and prevent their efforts to corrupt the game. As such we are taking Akmal’s comments very seriously. We have launched an investigation and wish to speak to Mr Akmal as a matter of urgency. Our Anti-Corruption Unit is committed to working to uphold integrity in cricket and would urge anyone with any information to contact us via [email protected],’ said an ICC statement.

    The 28-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has played 16 Test, scoring 1003 runs (ave 35.82) with a single Test century. His last Test was in 2011, against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo, and his last T20I was against the West Indies at Abu Dhabi in 2016. His most recent international appearance was an ODI against Australia at Adelaide in 2017.

    Photo: Jan Kruger-IDI/IDI via Getty Images

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    SA CRICKET