Umar Akmal suspended under PCB’s anti-corruption code

Umar Akmal has been provisionally suspended under the article 4.7.1 of the anti-corruption code of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

The middle-order batsman will now not be able to take part in the 5th edition of the Pakistan Super League starting tonight. Umar had to represent the reigning champions Quetta Gladiators in PSL 5.

While PCB has not revealed the entire details of the matter yet, article 4.7.1 can’t be imposed on cricketers for a minor offence.

Article 4.7.1 of PCB’s anti-corruption code says, “The board shall have the discretion, in circumstances where it considers that the integrity of the sport could otherwise be seriously undermined, to Provisionally Suspend the Participant pending the Anti-Corruption Tribunals determination of whether he/she has committed an offence.”

This is not the first controversy related to Umar Akmal. The 29-year old has been getting himself in trouble for his antics for quite some time now. He had accused the former Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur for abusing him at Pakistan’s National Cricket Academy (NCA) in 2017.

Recently, he had posted a topless picture of himself on twitter asking “where is the fat?” after he was declared unsuccessful in a skin-fold test.

Umar had been tipped as the next big thing in Pakistan cricket when he first burst onto the scene in 2009. However, he couldn’t quite become the batsman he was expected to and fell off the ladder after a couple of impressive seasons.