LAHORE: Cricketer Sharjeel Khan, facing spot-fixing allegations, has decided not to appear before the Anti-corruption Tribunal of the PCB as a witness.

“Yes, we have decided that Sharjeel will not appear before the tribunal as a witness,” says Sharjeel’s lawyer Sheghan Ijaz while talking to reporters here on Friday.

He said the PCB would now have to produce evidence to support their witnesses and it seemed that the tribunal was looking to invite witnesses of the case again.

Sharjeel’s counsel, who produced ex-cricketers Dean Jones, Mohammad Yousuf and Sadiq Mohammad as witnesses to declare that Sharjeel played two dot balls in the Pakistan Super League match on merit, said his witnesses believed no innocent person should be punished until proven guilty beyond the shadow of reasonable doubt.

To a question, the attorney said he was not in a position to predict any decision about Sharjeel’s case.

Meanwhile, PCB’s lawyer Tafazzul Rizvi said the decision of not appearing before the tribunal indicated Sharjeel did not want to defend himself.

He said the tribunal could call any witness again if it thought it right.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2017