|| Desk Report ||

Pakistan’s controversial batsman Umar Akmal’s three-year ban has been reduced to 18 months by former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd.) Faqir Muhammad Khokhar as an independent adjudicator. The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced the news recently. Notably, his suspension came into effect before this year's Pakistan Super League (PSL) in February and will be there till August 2021.

On April 27, the Chairman of the Disciplinary Panel, Justice (retd) Fazal-e-Miran Chauhan had suspended Umar Akmal for three years after discovering him guilty of breaching Article 2.4.4 of the PCB Anti-Corruption Code in two different incidents. However, the PCB wouldn’t comment on the matter until the order is made official.

Meanwhile, Umar Akmal had decided to appeal against the length of the suspension on May 19 and after listening to the arguments of both sides on Monday, former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, in his capacity as an independent adjudicator decided to reduce his suspension.

Umar Akmal, 29, is the younger brother of former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal, who has played 53 Tests, 58 T20s, 157 ODIs, and also the cousin of current captain Babar Azam.

Akmal, who last featured in green in October 2019, has played 16 Tests, 121 ODIs and 84 T20s so far where he amassed 1,003, 3,194 and 1,690 runs respectively. He started with a bang on his Test debut in the New Zealand where he smashed a century but later failed to keep his form intact. Moreover, his constant disagreement with the authorities ruined his cricketing career as well.