Suspicious people hide behind Asif Afridi's ban

Left arm spinner Asif Afridi, who was a part of the National T20 cup winning team Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, previously got suspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for breaching the anti-corruption code. Now the spinner got banned for two years, as announced by the cricket board yesterday.
In this case, two more players and coach were suspected for breaching the code of conduct whereas one of the coaching staff were seemed to be suspicious as well. 

Asif Afridi represented Rawalakot Hawks in the previous edition of the Kashmir Premier League (KPL). From the start of the tournament, the organisers felt something suspicious about the spinner. When asked PCB, the board insisted to let him play, so they can further investigate in order to get some clues.

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In the rain-effected match against Jammu Janbaz, Asif Afridi gave away 35 runs in his three-over spell and took only one wicket. He was being monitored before the beginning of the game against Kotli. In the match, Rawalakot suffered a 10-run defeat. Asif came to bat at number three and bowled out in the first delivery. Asif Afridi also gave away 52 runs in his four-over spell without taking a wicket.

After the match, things got pretty suspicious as the event organisers started their brief conversation with the PCB anti-corruption unit officers. Few people were against the decision to include Asif in the squad of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the National T20 cup. Against Central Punjab, he took two wickets and gave away 24 runs in his spell. After that, he didn't play any matches and was immediately suspended. 

As per sources, Asif's complaint was first made to the board by a Test cricketer last year. He said the spinner had offered to join the Bangladesh League during the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

At the same time, in some matches, he had indicated to "play" for someone else, but the said cricketer refused to do so while declaring himself as Amin and also reported the matter to PCB.

The spinner's name had already been included in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) draft, and Multan Sultans also selected him, but by that time, reports about Asif Afridi had started circulating in the cricket circle.

This was the reason why Multan Sultans didn't give him a chance in the first eight matches. PCB didn't take any action; therefore, the left-arm spinner was included in the last five games, where he took eight wickets at an average of 15.50.

PCB also handed him NOC for Afghanistan T20 League while also allowing him to play in Kashmir Premier League (KPL).

According to the sources, few players and officials were saved through strong connections. It was also shocking to see such convicted people yet saved by their 'sources' were given big responsibilities in the cricketing setup. When asked from the PCB management, they replied, "this case came under the notice of the previous board officials, we continued our investigations based on the official documents provided to us, and we did not find any proof during our investigation."