Pakistan batsman Sharjeel Khan has decided to appeal against the five-year ban imposed on him by the anti-corruption tribunal of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for his role in spot-fixing in the Pakistan Super League. Sharjeel's lawyer Shaighan Ejaz has said that a decision has been taken to appeal against the ban once the full order of the tribunal comes out by September 7.
"Yes we have decided that we will appeal the ban as we have our reservations over the tribunal finding Sharjeel guilty of three major charges which include doing spot-fixing and agreeing to spot-fix a match in the Pakistan Super League," Ejaz said.
A source close to Sharjeel said the batsman was not willing to carry the slur of being a spot-fixer all his life.
"Sharjeel is adamant he will not accept this tag of being branded as a spot-fixer even though the verdict handed down by the tribunal in its short order technically means he can resume playing cricket after one year and 10 months," the source said.
"Sharjeel has also conveyed to the cricket board he is not satisfied with the decision as the tribunal has found him guilty of two major charges. He is willing to accept the charges of being made an offer and not informing the competent authorities on time about it. But not more," the source said.
Shaighan Ejaz insisted that he was surprised by the tribunal finding Sharjeel guilty of major charges as the PCB had failed to submit any evidence against his client during the course of the tribunal hearings.
"When the board could not produce any evidence against Sharjeel confirming that he agreed to spot-fix a match in the PSL, we are not happy with the decision and we plan to appeal it when the time comes," Ejaz added.
The tribunal backdated the ban to Feb. 10, 2017, when the 28-year-old Sharjeel was first suspended during the Pakistan Super League. He was sent home from the United Arab Emirates along with Islamabad United teammate Khalid Latif.
Half of Sharjeel's sentence will be suspended if he goes through the PCB's rehabilitation process.
(With PTI Inputs)
