Independent adjudicator reserves verdict on Saleem Malik transcript case

An independent adjudicator, Justice Retired Fazal Meeran, has reserved the verdict about former cricketer Saleem Malik’s transcript case which will be announced in 15 days, after listening to the facts presented by the lawyers of both parties.

After the hearing, Malik’s lawyer Saud Cheema, while talking to media personnel, was upbeat about winning the case.

“The letter regarding the International Cricket Council (ICC) was presented for the first time. ICC, in the letter, had claimed that the tape was inconclusive. We had claimed from the start that the authenticity of the tape was in doubt. The PCB however claimed that they needed a response regardless of the authenticity of the transcript,” Cheema said.

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Malik expressed hope that the case would go in his favor after the revelations of the ICC’s letter.

“I have been going to PCB offices for the last 20 years, but now I feel that the truth will finally win. I had been saying from the start that this transcript had been based on lies. ICC’s letter proves my point of view. I am hopeful that I will get justice,” Malik said.

The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB’s) lawyers left without talking to the media in the aftermath of the hearing.

The 57-year-old was given a life ban by the PCB as a result of Justice Qayyum's report, in 2000, for match-fixing, which was lifted in 2008 by a Civil Court in Lahore.

Malik scored 5768 runs in 103 Test matches and 7170 runs in 283 ODIs for Pakistan.