Former SC judge appointed to hear Umar Akmal’s appeal

A former Supreme Court (SC) judge has been appointed to hear Umar Akmal’s appeal as he looks to resurrect his career following a three-year ban.

“Former Supreme Court judge Mr Justice (R) Faqir Muhammad Khokhar has been appointed as an independent adjudicator to hear Umar Akmal’s appeal against the three-year ban for breaching the PCB Anti-Corruption Code in two separate incidents,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a press release.

According to the board, the date of Akmal appeal’s hearing is yet to be decided.

“The independent adjudicator will now decide on the date of the appeal hearing. As soon as this is confirmed, the PCB will make the announcement.”

Umar Akmal was provisionally suspended just hours before the start of this year’s Pakistan Super League (PSL) before being suspended for three years after he decided to not counter the charges levied on him.

The extent of the ban was seen as harsh by some, including Umar’s brother Kamran Akmal and former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar, both of whom criticized the PCB for their lack of consistency when dealing with such cases.

Earlier, Cricketer Umar Akmal handed a three-year ban from all cricket by Chairman of the Disciplinary Panel Mr Justice (R) Fazal-e-Miran Chauhan.

Akmal, in an interview, had said that he was offered $200,000 by fixers to leave two deliveries in one of the matches. He also claimed that he was offered money to skip matches against India.