FIA wants players on ECL

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has recommended putting the names of all the suspended cricketers on the Exit Control List (ECL) for the effective inquiry to reach to the bottom of the alleged spot-fixing incidents that dented the country as well as cricket’s image during the second edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

In a letter addressed to the Ministry of Interior, the concerned FIA officials have recommended putting the names of suspended cricketers on the ECL.

Currently four cricketers — Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Irfan and Shahzaib Hasan — are in the country while the fifth player Nasir Jamshed is already in England facing criminal charges of manipulating to fix matches.

The London-based National Crime Agency is investigating against Nasir and England-based Pakistani Yousaf.

The FIA recommended that all the cricketers who are facing charges of match-fixing should be barred from leaving abroad as this could seriously affect the investigation that has already started.

Meanwhile, the PCB could well dispatch one to two men inquiry committee to London to grill Nasir Jamshed about the role he had played in whole saga.

Though Nasir was not part of the PSL’s second edition, he was very much present in the UAE and had established contacts with the players well before the start of the event.

A few days back while submitting the initial report with the Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the FIA had expressed its apprehensions that attempts were made to tamper with the mobile messages by the players alleged to have established connections with the bookies. For that, the FIA sought interior minister’s permission to go ahead with thorough investigation into the incident.

The FIA has been given a free hand by the interior minister to carry out a detailed forensic investigation to determine as to which player had direct links with bookies.

The suspended cricketers have already been summoned to appear before the FIA Inquiry Committee on March 20 and 21.