A Pakistani cricket committee has summoned wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal in a bid to clear him from suspicion of match-fixing and revive his derailed career, an official said Tuesday.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) integrity committee will question Kamran on Wednesday, following his inclusion in the preliminary 30-man squad for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in September and October.
“Kamran has been summoned by the committee and he has been asked to submit some material,” PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar told AFP, without giving further details.
The 30 year old has not been selected for Pakistan since the 2011 World Cup, and the board said he was not considered for selection because he had not been cleared by the committee.
“Kamran is among the 30 probables for the World Twenty20 but his inclusion in the final team is subject to clearance from the integrity committee,” chief selector Iqbal Qasim told AFP.
Kamran’s name was mentioned at last year’s spot-fixing trial in England, but he was neither summoned by the London court nor banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Former Test captain Salman Butt and pacemen Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer were banned and jailed for contriving deliberate no-balls during the Lord’s Test against England in 2010.
Kamran was also accused of deliberately under-performing during Pakistan’s surprise defeat against Australia in the 2010 Sydney Test, where he failed to run out Shane Watson and dropped three chances on Michael Hussey.
Despite the allegations, Kamran claimed to have a clearance letter from the ICC saying he is not being investigated.
He also vowed to clear his name through the integrity committee, which reportedly asked for details of his assets and bank accounts.
He was axed from the team after a dismal keeping behind the stumps at the World Cup where he dropped New Zealand’s Ross Taylor twice in paceman Shoaib Akhtar’s one over.
