Pakistan Super League spot-fixing: Khalid Latif's plea against 5-year ban overruled

Tainted Pakistan batsman Khalid Latif's appeal against his five-year ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) Anti-corruption Tribunal over his alleged involvement in the spot-fixing case has been overruled by the Appellate Tribunal.

Latif, however, has been offered some relief by waiving away his fine of Rs 1 million Pakistan Rupees ($9,489 approximately) keeping in view that the cricketer's career has effectively ended.

The 32-year-old had filed an appeal with the independent adjudicator after he was banned from the cricket last September by the PCB, for his alleged role in the spot-fixing scandal that marred the second edition of the Pakistan Super League​ (PSL) in 2017, the Express Tribune reported.

Latif was charged with six major breaches of the PCB's Anti-Corruption Code, including attempting to spot-fix, accepting an offer by a bookmaker, which he did not report on time, and luring other players to take part in fixing.

The spot-fixing allegations relate to a match between Latif's team Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi in Dubai in February during the second edition of the PSL.

Earlier on March 6, a three-member tribunal was formed by the PCB to investigate the spot-fixing case allegedly involving Sharjeel Khan and Latif. Sharjeel was the first player to be banned for five years in this spot-fixing case last month.

However, his half of the ban was suspended by the anti-corruption tribunal of the PCB, based on circumstantial evidence. Four other players - Mohammad Irfan, Nasir Jamshed, Shahzaib Hasan and Mohammad Nawaz- are also under investigation by the PCB tribunal and have also been provisionally suspended.

Rayudu banned

Hyderabad cricket team captain Ambati Rayudu has been handed a two-match suspension for breaching the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)'s Code of Conduct.

The board found him guilty for violating its code during the Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy match between Hyderabad and Karnataka on January 11.

"Rayudu has been barred from participating in the first two matches for Hyderabad in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy," an official statement from the BCCI read.

The statement further informed, "Rayudu pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by BCCI and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing."

The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Abhijit Deshmukh, Ulhas Vithalrao Gandhe, and third umpire Anil Dandekar. The BCCI is further looking into the role of Hyderabad Team Manager in this untoward incident.