LAHORE: While Sharjeel Khan formally recorded his statement on the ongoing PSL spot-fixing scam before the Pakistan Cricket Board’s anti-corruption unit, the statement from Khalid Latif, the other prominent suspect, was being recorded at the time of filing of this report here on Friday.

Top-order batsman Khalid, who was scheduled to record his official statement on the scam Friday morning, delayed it due to what appeared to be some sort of illness. According to a PCB spokesman, the right-handed top-order batsman appeared before the unit late in the evening at PCB headquarters.

According to PCB media director Amjad Hussain Bhatti, both the cricketers would be given the chargesheet soon after they completed the process of recording their formal statement to the Board’s anti-corruption unit.

PSL authorities in their initial statement on the scam, which emerged one day after the League started on Feb 9, had claimed that while the investigation against three other cricketers -- Mohammad Irfan, Zulfiqar Babar and Shahzaib Hasan -- was ongoing, Sharjeel and Khalid were sidelined from the PSL after they had confessed to wrongdoing. Both were suspended provisionally by the PCB’s anti-corruption unit, and immediately sent back home.

Surprisingly however, after the passage of seven days, the formal chargesheets have not been handed over to the duo. If the initial stance of PSL authorities -- that both confessed -- is regarded as correct then the only major task for Board’s anti-corruption unit, it seems, is announcing punishments.

Clarifying the PCB position, Amjad said the anti-corruption unit was working under a specific procedure, which would not give any room to the (guilty) cricketers to file an appeal before any legal court.

“The PCB will not leave any lacuna in the case which may help the cricketers to go to any court,” he said.

Commenting on reports indicating that some relaxation in punishment could be given to guilty players if they confessed to their crime, Amjad said the notorious spot-fixing case was of high profile that can tarnish an otherwise successful PSL. “Therefore, the PCB would not show any leniency towards guilty cricketers at any cost.”

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2017