PCB summons Umar Akmal over fixing approach claim

Lahore : The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) has summoned Umar Akmal on Wednesday after the batsman claimed in a TV interview that he was approached to fix matches, especially the contest against arch-rivals India in the 2015 ICC World Cup.

Akmal even went on to claim that he got spot-fixing offers every single time Pakistan played India, which has majorly been in ICC tournaments or the Asia Cup.

Besides the matches against India, Akmal revealed that he was also approached to fix matches in the Hong Kong Super Sixes, Pakistan’s series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates.

Akmal reportedly said he was made the offer in the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand — a tournament in which Pakistan went till the quarterfinal stage.

Pakistan and India were in Group B and played their only contest at the Adelaide Oval where India maintained their unbeaten run against Pakistan in World Cup history, winning by 76 runs.

Akmal faced a mere four balls and fell for a duck to left-arm orthodox Ravindra Jadeja.

“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,” Akmal said in the interview with Samaa TV.

“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,” he added.

Akmal’s claims invited quick action with the PCB asking the 28-year-old to explain his comments.

“Notice served to Umar Akmal. He has been asked to appear before PCB Anti Corruption Unit (ACU) on June 27,” a tweet from the PCB’s handle read.

Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council (ICC) also sprung into action, saying that it wished to speak with the cricketer urgently.

“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,” the ICC said in a statement.

“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 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 contactacu@icc-cricket.com,” the ICC statement added.

 Published on June 25, 2018 at 15:15 IST

IANS