Pakistan Cricket Board hands Asif Afridi two-year ban for anti-corruption offences
Asif Afridi ban for two years [Twitter]
Pakistan first-class cricketer, Asif Afridi has been sanctioned with a two-year ban for committing two separate infractions of the Pakistan Cricket Board's Anti-Corruption Code. The ban which is set to take effect on the 12th of September, 2022, shall culminate two years after said date. The cricketer, who was participating in the 2022 Pakistan Cup as a part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa team, was found guilty of violating Article 2.4.10 and Article 2.4.4 of the code.
The more severe of the two violations pertains to Article 2.4.10, which encompasses the act of directly or indirectly "directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any Participant to breach any of the foregoing provisions of this Article 2.4." Although the specific nature of this offense has not been made public, it has resulted in the aforementioned two-year ban.
On the other hand, the other infraction relates to the breach of Article 2.4.4, which mandates the reporting of any corrupt approaches made towards a participant. In light of this offense, Afridi has received a supplementary six-month suspension that will run concurrently with the two-year ban.
"It gives the PCB no joy to suspend an international cricketer for two years, but we have a zero-tolerance approach towards such offences. As the game's governing body, we need to make examples, handle such matters robustly and send out strong messages to all cricketers." Said Najam Sethi, the Chair of the PCB Management Committee in a statement.
"It is bitter fact that corruption poses a threat to our sport as selfish corrupters lure cricketers in different ways and methods. That's precisely why the PCB has been investing heavily in player education so that they remain vigilant and can help the PCB eradicate this menace by reporting approaches and if despite all our best efforts to create awareness, a player falls victim to his greed, then the PCB has no sympathy," added Sethi.
Despite the fact that the left-arm spinner didn’t feature in international games, he was included in both the white-ball squads for the series against Australia in 2022. His latest competitive participation took place in the National T20 Cup, where he represented Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Also Read: Gary Ballance reacts to his valiant century against West Indies
 "Jatin")
