Khalid Latif receives five-year ban from cricket
What's the story?
Pakistan batsman Khalid Latif has been banned from playing all forms of cricket for five years following his role in the spot-fixing scandal that hit the Pakistan Super League (PSL) this season.
The 31-year-old represented the Islamabad United franchise in the league and was one of the six cricketers who were questioned in relation to the controversy this year.
In case you didn't know...
The spot-fixing scandal of PSL 2017 rose in February this year, when CB suspended six cricketers following their involvement in the same.
Among the other names were Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif, Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Irfan, Shahzaib Hasan and Mohammad Nawaz.
The details
Latif has also been slapped with a fine of 1 million Pakistan rupees by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The amount is the equivalent of US$9489.
Among the cricketers who have been tried by the PCB to date, it appears that Latif has had the most harsh punishment. He will not be allowed to return to playing cricket until 2022.
Mohammad Irfan and Mohammad Nawaz were also banned for relatively smaller indiscretions, but are now back to participating in domestic cricket tournaments.
What's next?
Khan was also suspended for five years in August this year, after he was found guilty of five major breaches of PCB's anti-corruption code. However, his sentence was later reduced to two and a half years at the final sentencing on him.
It looks difficult for Latif's suspension to be truncated, as the six breaches that have come off his hand are major and in direct violation of the code.
Author's take
With SarfarazAhmed's men winning the ICC Champions Trophy in June and the World XI playing international cricket in the country just a few days back, it seemed like Pakistan cricket was finally going in the right direction after long.
The development will just be marred due to such scandalous instances. Hence, the PCB is completely right in its place. The board must ensure that it does not fall prey to leniency just now and gives out strict punishment to all those that have violated its codes.
Latif has played international cricket for Pakistan and it is sad for the regular cricket enthusiasts to see his career take such an ugly turn. However, it is important that this case is used as a precedent to educate up-and-coming cricketers about the repercussions of unethical actions in a globally popular sport like cricket.