Northern batter Zeeshan Malik suspended by PCB under anti-corruption code

The Northern batter Zeeshan Malik has been suspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) under the board’s anti-corruption code. He had featured in the recently concluded Pakistan’s National T20 Cup. The 24-year-old played five matches for the Northern and scored 123 runs at an average of 24.60. He thus finished as the team’s sixth-highest run-getter in the tournament.

The PCB suspended him on Thursday, October 14 under Article 4.7.1 of the PCB Anti-Corruption Code. The board hasn’t stated the reason behind the batter’s suspension but has barred him from being a part of any cricket-related activity. The batter had initially come into the limelight after he became Pakistan’s third-highest run-scorer at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup. He averaged 56.25 in the tournament and chipped in 225 runs.

Hailing from Chakwal in the Rawalpindi district, he made his first-class debut in the year 2016. In his 2019-20 season for Northern, Malik smashed 780 runs at an average of 52.

Umar Akmal was also suspended on similar grounds

Article 4.7.1 of the PCB’s Anti-Corruption Code reads: “(a) the PCB decides to charge a Participant with an offence under this Anti-Corruption Code; or (b) the PCB considers that there are other exceptional circumstances relevant to a Participant (for example, where any relevant police authority has arrested and/or charged a Participant with an offence under any relevant criminal law in respect of facts or circumstances that may also constitute an offence under this Anti-Corruption Code), it shall have the discretion, in circumstances where it considers that the integrity of the sport could otherwise be seriously undermined, to Provisionally Suspend the Participant pending the Anti-Corruption Tribunal’s determination of whether he/she has committed an offence.

Any decision to Provisionally Suspend the Participant will be communicated to the Participant in writing, with a copy sent at the same time to the ICC and, where applicable, the National Cricket Federation to which the Participant is affiliated.”

Previously, Pakistan’s batter Umar Akmal was also suspended on similar grounds. He remained suspended from all forms of cricket since February 2020. However, recently he had started resuming his cricket. The batter had not reported the spot-fixing approaches made to him during the Pakistan Super League. He also had to pay a fine of 4.2 million rupees to the PCB as part of the disciplinary action.