Ex-Pakistan Batsman Jailed in UK

Former Pakistan batsman Nasir Jamshed has been sentenced to 17 months in prison for his role in a fixing scandal, Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

The former Test opener was banned for 10 years by an anti-corruption tribunal in 2018 for his part in the spot-fixing scandal that engulfed the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2017.

Manchester Crown Court also announced jail terms for British nationals Yousef Anwar and Mohammed Ijaz after the trio admitted their roles in the conspiracy following a covert NCA investigation.

Jamshed, 30, played 68 international matches for Pakistan, the last being a 2015 World Cup one-day match against United Arab Emirates in Napier.

"Using an undercover officer, NCA investigators identified that the group were plotting to fix elements of the 2016 Bangladesh Premier League T20 tournament which Jamshed was due to play in," NCA said in a statement on Friday.

Next year, Anwar was captured on CCTV purchasing 28 different colored bat handle grips which would subsequently be used by the players in PSL as the signal to show the fix was going ahead, it added.

"These men abused their privileged access to professional, international cricket to corrupt games, eroding public confidence for their own financial gain," NCA Senior Investigating Officer Ian McConnell said.

Pakistan Cricket Board slapped batsmen Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif with five-year bans last year, while paceman Mohammad Irfan and all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz received shorter suspensions for their roles in the scandal.

In 2011, Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were jailed in Britain for their role in a plot to bowl pre-arranged no-balls during a Lord's test against England in 2010.

Source: Reuters