PSL controversy: Umar Akmal's ban reduced to 18 months

Lahore - Akmal was banned after the Pakistan Cricket Board's disciplinary committee found him guilty of two charges of violating the anti-corruption code

An independent adjudicator has halved batsman Umar Akmal's ban to 18 months for failing to report corrupt approaches before this year's Pakistan Super League.
Adjudicator Faqir Mohammad Khokhar, a retired supreme court judge, announced the judgement on Wednesday after Akmal had appealed the duration of the original three-year band.
"I am not happy with the year-and-a-half suspension and I will appeal after consulting my lawyers," Akmal told reporters in Lahore soon after Khokhar announced the judgement.
The 30-year-old Akmal was banned after the Pakistan Cricket Board's disciplinary committee found him guilty of two charges of violating the anti-corruption code just before the start of Pakistan's premier domestic Twenty20 league. Akmal's ban is now set to Aug. 19, 2021.
Earlier this month, Khokhar had reserved his judgment after listening to arguments from both the Pakistan Cricket Board and Akmal during a three-hour hearing in Lahore.
The chairman of the disciplinary committee, retired Justice Fazal-e-Miran Chauhan, said in his ruling that it appeared Akmal showed no remorse and had "tried to take refuge under the pretext that in the past whenever any such approaches were made, the matter was reported by him."