Crisis stares at Akmal, Sami

Karachi: Pakistani players, Mohammed Sami and Umar Akmal are in a fix after their names were reported in the media in the ongoing spot-fixing hearings of the Pakistan Super League.

A top official of the National Crime Agency of the United Kingdom gave a testimony to the three-member anti-corruption tribunal in the spot-fixing case via a video link last week after which it was reported in the media that he had also mentioned the names of Sami and Umar among players whose names are cropping up in the case.

PCB Chairman, Shaharyar Khan, who is presently in London, also took the names of Sami and Umar during a talk with a Pakistani newspaper.

But PCB legal advisor, Salman Naseer refused to comment on whether the two players were under investigation or their names were mentioned during the testimony by the NCA official via video link.

"I would advise the media and everyone else to refrain from taking names of any players without official confirmation as it causes problems and so far I don't recall anyone in the tribunal and board taking the names of these two players anywhere," he said.

When asked to confirm if it was correct the NCA official had taken the names of Sami and Umar during his testimony, Salman said no comments.For the two Pakistan players, however, the incident has already caused problems.