PCB confirms receiving Umar Akmal’s response

• The board has charged the batsman with two breaches of the anti-corruption code which relates to not reporting a fixing offer.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today (Tuesday) confirmed it has received Umar Akmal’s response to the Notice of Charge, which was issued on 17 March for two violations of Article 2.4.4 of the PCB Anti-Corruption Code in unrelated incidents.

The PCB will now review and examine Umar Akmal’s response and provide further details on the next steps in due course. Until that stage, the PCB will not make any further comments on this matter.

Earlier, PCB said Umar violated its code on two counts. “The PCB has charged Umar Akmal with two breaches of the anti-corruption code which relates to not reporting a fixing offer," said a PCB release.

Under the PCB anti-corruption code a player is required to immediately report to a team manager or the officials of the anti-corruption unit when he receives an offer to fix a match. Under the code if a player is found guilty the penalty ranges from a suspension of six months to a lifetime ban, the release adds.

Umar had 14 days (till March 31) to respond to the charges in writing.

Umar has a history of disciplinary problems, having been arrested and detained for a day after a brawl with a traffic warden in 2014. He was banned for three months after a spat with the then Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur in 2017.

Also, last month he escaped punishment after making rude remarks to a fitness trainer in Lahore. Often described as a talented yet undisciplined cricketer, Umar has played 16 Tests, 121 one-day internationals and 84 Twenty20 internationals since his debut in 2009.