KARACHI: Controversial Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal could face a lifetime ban if convicted of match-fixing charges unveiled Friday by the country’s cricket authorities.
The 29-year-old was provisionally suspended by the anti-corruption unit of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on February 20, the day when the Pakistan Super League commenced in Karachi.
The 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 press release.
Under the PCB anti-corruption code a player is required to immediately report to a team manager or 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.
Umar has 14 days 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 also banned for three months after a spat with then Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur in 2017.
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.
He last played for Pakistan in the Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka four months ago, failing to score in either match.
Umar’s anti-corruption case is the latest of many that has hit Pakistan cricket in the last 20 years, resulting in life bans and fines for several players.
The PSL was hit by a spot-fixing case in 2017 when openers Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif were banned for five years.
Pakistan’s Umar Akmal could face lifetime ban over corruption charges
https://arab.news/cce6p
Pakistan’s Umar Akmal could face lifetime ban over corruption charges
- Country's cricket authorities unveiled match fixing charges against him on Friday
- The 29-year-old was provisionally suspended by the cricket board on February 20
Alcaraz beats Sinner in South Korea exhibition match
- “We all need the support from the fans,” Alcaraz said.
- The pair mixed up their game with an array of trick shots
SEOUL: Carlos Alcaraz beat his great rival Jannik Sinner 7-5 7-6(8) to win their Hyundai Card Super Match exhibition event in Incheon, South Korea, on Saturday that marked the start of the season for the world’s top two men’s tennis players.
There was little to separate the two during the entertaining clash, with world number one Alcaraz squeaking ahead toward the end of both sets to clinch the win.
“We all need the support from the fans. So having the support and feeling the love from the people was necessary for me to perform my best and play great tennis like I did today,” Alcaraz said.
In their press conference on Friday, Sinner said the match would not be a true indicator of their levels heading into the new season and that both players would focus on entertaining spectators.
It was a promise they lived up to, as the largely light-hearted hit-around unsurprisingly lacked the intensity that has characterised their previous meetings on the sport’s biggest stages.
The pair mixed up their game with an array of trick shots and engaged in a number of memorable rallies to keep fans at the Inspire Arena on the edge of their seats, with Sinner allowing a child in the stands to play a point for him in the second set.
EXHIBITION EVENTS
It was an entertaining display from both players, who are no strangers to putting on a show at exhibition events.
Sinner and Alcaraz competed in the Six Kings Slam exhibition tournament in Riyadh in 2024 and 2025, with the Italian winning in the final on both occasions.
Alcaraz has defended his decision to play in such lucrative events despite previously saying he would consider skipping ATP Tour events to prioritize his health in a crowded schedule, saying they provide relief from the grind of the tour.
The Spaniard has also admitted there are considerable financial incentives to playing exhibition events, saying last year the prize money on offer was a motivation for playing in the Six Kings Slam.
With the exhibition match wrapped up, the serious business starts for Sinner and Alcaraz, who will now shift their attention to the Australian Open.
The two have much at stake in the season’s opening Grand Slam, which begins at Melbourne Park on January 18, with Sinner looking to win a third straight Australian Open title and Alcaraz chasing a career Grand Slam.
“It was an entertaining match, that’s why we came here and obviously now the main goal is in Australia,” Sinner said.
“At the end of the day, exhibition matches are different, you are a bit more relaxed and also entertaining the crowd a little bit more with different shots and different actions on court.”
