Arthur praises Sarfraz over fixing case

SHARJAH: Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur on Sunday praised the player, widely reported to be captain Sarfraz Ahmed, who was approached by a bookie but he instead reported the matter to the PCB, as “a real example to our team”.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Saturday confirmed a player was approached with a fixing offer during the ongoing one-day series with Sri Lanka but he reported the matter to the Board’s anti-corruption unit.

“To be honest the player reacted unbelievably well,” Arthur told media at Sharjah stadium.“He did everything required of him and we had a chat straight afterwards.“It was handled brilliantly and I think that is a real example to our team and to the cricket world that a really important player was approached and acted to the letter of the law and did exceptionally well as a true ambassador of the game.”

PCB said the matter was also referred to the International Cricket Council (ICC).Arthur was confident any of his players would act in the same manner in future.“I am very comfortable with our players, they are outstanding and they are intelligent young men and individuals and I have no doubt that if anyone is approached they will do the same way as the individua did,” said Arthur.

As per the anti-corruption rules a player is required to instantly report a fixing offer, failing to which will result in a minimum of six months to a maximum life ban.

Pakistan cricket received a jolt in February when two of theirplayers — Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif — were caught in a spot-fixing scandal which rocked their Twenty20 league held in United Arab Emirates.

Sharjeel was banned for five years (two and a half years of which were suspended) while Khalid was banned for five years and fined one million rupees.The two played for Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and were accused of arranging two dot balls in return for money in the opening match of the league.

Pacer Mohammad Irfan was banned for one year, six months of which were suspended, and fined one million rupees while  all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz was banned for two months (one suspended) and fined 200,000 rupees for failing to report fixing offers at various stages.