Khalid Latif admits he met a bookie

ISLAMABAD: Khalid Latif finally admitted (through his lawyer) meeting a bookie at the sidelines of the second edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) as the Appellate Tribunal (AT) reserved its judgment on the appeal filed by him against the ban and the fine.

Justice (rtd) Faqir Mohammad Khokhar heard arguments of the parties and later reserved the judgment, to be announced later.

Khalid’s lawyer Badar Alam admitted that his client met a bookie on Nasir Jamshed’s insistence. “My client met with a bookie after he was requested by Jamshed to do so,” said Badar.

He said that Jamshed told him to meet the bookie who was there in the lobby. Badar maintained that Khalid had not committed a crime. “Meeting such a person (bookie) was no crime,” he claimed.

The lawyer said his client did not play the opening match of the second edition of PSL. “So no question arises of his getting involved in fixing,” he argued. Badar said that Khalid had handed over all his belongings, including mobile phones to Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Anti Corruption Unit for scrutiny.

“My client has never been involved in any match fixing and seeks reprieve from the five years ban and fine imposed on him by the tribunal.”PCB legal counsel Tafazal Rizvi told reporters that the ban and the fine should be retained. “We hope the adjudicator will not change the punishment,” he added.

He claimed that PCB’s stance had been vindicated. “Since Khalid finally accepted meeting with a bookie, our stance has been vindicated,” he said. Tafazal, however, expressed his surprise over Khalid’s lawyer’s claim that there was no harm in meeting a bookie. “Claiming that meeting a bookie was no crime surprised us all,” he said.