LAHORE: Pakistan cricket’s anti-corruption tribunal Wednesday banned opener Khalid Latif for five years and fined him one million rupees ($9,489) over a spot-fixing case, the second casualty after teammate Sharjeel Khan was banned late last month.
“Latif is banned for five years and fined one million rupees after the proceedings of the case,” the three-member tribunal announced.
The 31-year-old has played five one-day internationals and 13 T20Is, the last of which was against the West Indies in Abu Dhabi in September 2016.
In August, Sharjeel was banned for five years, with two-and-a-half years suspended, for his role in the spot-fixing scandal.
Latif had been charged with breaching six clauses, including the serious offense of luring other players to take part in fixing.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) provisionally suspended Latif and Sharjeel after they found evidence of spot-fixing during a Pakistan Super League (PSL) match between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi in Dubai in February.
The board said Sharjeel and Latif met an alleged bookie and struck a deal. Based on the plan, Sharjeel — an aggressive batsman who scores quickly — agreed to play two dot balls after the first over in the match.
Although Latif did not play in that game, he was later charged with luring Sharjeel into the deal and not reporting the matter to the PCB anti-corruption unit.
Spot-fixing involves bets on the outcome of a particular passage of play, unlike match-fixing in which there is an attempt to prearrange the result of the match.
Both players were suspended provisionally at the time and withdrawn from the PSL.
The minimum punishment for the charges which Latif faced was a six-month suspension with a maximum of a life ban.
Under the PCB code players can appeal rulings before an independent arbitrator within 14 days of the decision.
Four other players — Mohammad Irfan, Shahzaib Hasan, Nasir Jamshed and Mohammad Nawaz — were also included in the investigation on multiple charges.
Irfan and Nawaz admitted not reporting the bookie’s offer. Irfan was banned for one year with six months suspended and fined one million rupees. Nawaz was banned for two months, with one suspended, and fined 200,0000 rupees.
Both are now free to play, while the cases against Hasan and Jamshed are continuing.
Latif’s lawyer Badre Alam repeatedly raised objections during the proceedings, and also filed a petition in the Lahore high court against the tribunal. But the pleas were rejected by the court.
Alam, who like Latif did not attend the announcement, rejected the verdict.
“The short decision proves that the tribunal is not impartial,” Alam told media. “They had made up their mind to punish Latif. We will decide our plans only after the detailed judgment comes.”
Latif had shown tremendous promise at an early age but has failed to make an impact at international level.
Having made his first class debut at 15, he led Pakistan to victory at the Junior World Cup in Bangladesh in 2004.
But once drafted to the Pakistan side for a one-day match against Zimbabwe in 2008, Latif could not cement his place on the national team.
Last year he appeared to have become a regular player in the Twenty20 squad, having scored a rapid 59 not out against England last year.
But the latest punishement looks set to all but end a career which had only briefly taken off.
Cricket: Pakistan bans Latif for five years over spot-fixing
Cricket: Pakistan bans Latif for five years over spot-fixing
Arsenal thrash Villa 4-1 while Chelsea and Man Utd both held
- Arsenal end Aston Villa’s 11-game winning streak
- Wolves earn third point of season against Man United
LONDON: Arsenal closed out 2025 in emphatic fashion, smashing third-placed Aston Villa 4-1 on Tuesday to surge five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers, who collected their third point of the season, while Bournemouth grabbed a point at stuttering Chelsea, forcing a 2-2 draw after a frantic first-half display.
Man United are sixth, level on 30 points with fifth-placed Chelsea.
At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal slammed the door shut on charging Villa, ending their club-record winning run of 11 games.
Goals by Gabriel Magalhaes and Martin Zubimendi early in the second half gave Arsenal control of a game that had looked fraught with danger.
Gabriel bundled in the opener from a corner in the 48th minute before Martin Odegaard slid a pass through for Zubimendi to score four minutes later. Arsenal secured the points when Leandro Trossard fired home from the edge of the area before Gabriel Jesus came off the bench to add the fourth.
Ollie Watkins grabbed a consolation goal for Villa in stoppage time.
“I think it was amazing,” Jesus told Sky Sports. “It’s always hard to play against them... The mentality of the team is really, really growing and each game is growing even more and I think we are winning today because of the mentality.”
Arsenal top the standings with 45 points, while second-placed Manchester City can close the gap when they play at Sunderland on Thursday.
Villa are six points adrift of Arsenal.
It took six minutes at Stamford Bridge for Bournemouth to shock Chelsea when David Brooks grabbed the opener. Cole Palmer equalized from the spot in the 15th minute and Fernandez put Chelsea ahead with a bullet shot eight minutes later.
Justin Kluivert brought Bournemouth back level in the 27th, to grab a point, adding to the London side’s unenviable record of one win in seven league games. Chelsea sit fifth, while Bournemouth are 10 spots below them.
Man Utd struggle
Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee made the most of a rare start by giving the depleted hosts the lead with a deflected shot from the edge of the box in the 27th minute.
But Wolves managed to level just before the break thanks to a header from Ladislav Krejci.
Patrick Dorgu briefly celebrated what he thought was a 90th-minute winner, but it was chalked off for offside.
“We struggled in all the game,” United boss Ruben Amorim said. “We had a lack of creation... the fluidity offensively wasn’t there.
“We didn’t play well. When you don’t play well with the ball, you struggle without it.”
Wolves have three points from 19 games, 15 points from the safety zone.
Newcastle United’s Joelinton scored after 65 seconds and Yoane Wissa doubled their lead five minutes later in a 3-1 thrashing of 19th-placed Burnley, who are winless in their last 10 games.
Josh Laurent pulled one back in the 23rd minute, but Bruno Guimaraes sealed Newcastle’s rare away win with a goal in stoppage time.
Everton climbed to eighth in the standings with a 2-0 win over their former manager Sean Dyche and Nottingham Forest thanks to goals from James Garner and Thierno Barry.
West Ham United drew 2-2 with Brighton & Hove Albion in a game that featured three penalties in the first half.
Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta, from the penalty spot, scored before the break for West Ham, while Brighton’s Danny Welbeck struck from the penalty spot in the 32nd minute but fired another off the crossbar.
Joel Veltman scored for Brighton in the 61st minute to secure the draw.
There are four more games on New Year’s Day, including fourth-placed Liverpool hosting Leeds United at Anfield.
