Nasir to face bribery trial in UK

LONDON: Nasir Jamshed, the banned Pakistan batsman, is set to face trial in the UK after being accused of bribing cricketers in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Nasir and two UK nationals, Yousef Anwar and Mohammed Ijaz, were arrested in February 2017 as part of an investigation into alleged spot-fixing by the UK’s National Crime Agency.

Nasir, Anwar and Ijaz have been charged with conspiring to bribe players in the PSL to underperform.

The offences are said to have taken place between November 2016 and February 2017. Anwar and Ijaz have also been charged with conspiring to bribe players in the Bangladesh Premier League in late 2016.

On Monday, all three defendants entered not guilty pleas at Manchester Crown Court. Their trial is set to take place at the same court, starting December 2.

All three were granted unconditional bail and told to attend a pre-trial review hearing on September 6.

In August 2018, Nasir was given a 10-year ban by the PCB after being found guilty of five charges under its anti-corruption code.

Five other players also received sanctions from the PCB over corruption charges relating to the 2017 PSL spot-fixing scandal. Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif were each banned for five years, while Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Irfan and Shahzaib Hasan received shorter suspensions.