Karachi: Left-arm spinner Asif Afridi, who was once selected in the Pakistan squad but did not get a game, was on Tuesday banned for two years after he pleaded guilty to an anti-corruption code violation.
The 36-year-old's ban commenced from September 22, 2022 when he was provisionally suspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board. He was picked for Pakistan's white ball squad for the home T20 series against Australia but never played for the national side. Asif has 118 wickets from 36 first-class matches. The PCB found him guilty of two breaches of the anti-corruption code for which he got a two year ban and a six month ban and both the periods of ineligibility will run concurrently. "It gives the PCB no joy to suspend an international cricketer for two years, but we have a zero-tolerance approach towards such offences," PCB chairman Najam Sethi
said. "As the game's governing body, we need to make examples, handle such matters robustly and send out strong messages to all cricketers."
"It is a bitter fact that corruption poses a threat to our sport as selfish corrupters lure cricketers in different ways and methods.