Umar Akmal summoned by Pakistan Cricket Board over fixing approach claims during 2015 World Cup

The Pakistan Cricket Board’s anti-corruption unit has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday after Umar Akmal told a local channel that he had been offered $200,000 to ‘leave two balls alone’ in a World Cup match against India in 2015.

Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal has dropped a bombshell - claiming in a TV interview that he was approached with the offer of being paid $200,000 for ‘leaving two balls alone’ in the contest against arch-rivals India in the last 50-over World Cup.

Umar Akmal has represented Pakistan in 16 Tests, 116 ODIs and 82 T20Is. (Getty Images)

Akmal has even said that he gets spot-fixing offers every single time Pakistan play India, which has majorly been in ICC tournaments or the Asia Cup.

According to reports, Akmal said he was made the offer in the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand - a tournament in which Pakistan went till the quarterfinal stage.

Pakistan and India were in Group B and played their only contest at the Adelaide Oval. India maintained their unbeaten run against Pakistan in the World Cup history, winning by 76 runs.

Akmal faced a mere four balls and fell for a duck to left-arm orthodox Ravindra Jadeja.

“I had got an offer during the World Cup to leave two balls alone and they were willing to pay me $200,000 for that,” Akmal said in the interview with Samaa TV.

“It was our first match against India in the 2015 World Cup... in fact, every match I play against India, they offer me money to make some excuse and opt out of the game. But I have told those people that I am very sincere about playing for Pakistan and to not talk to me on this topic ever again,” he added.

Akmal’s claim has sparked a quick action from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), who has asked the 28-year-old to explain his comments.

The global cricket governing body (ICC), meanwhile, has said it wishes to speak with the cricketer urgently.

“The ICC is aware of a recent interview given by Umar Akmal. Whilst we note that there is no suggestion that any ‘fix’ actually took place, the ICC is reliant on players to report any corrupt approaches in a timely manner. This is critical to our efforts to gather information on potential ‘fixers’ and to disrupt and prevent their efforts to corrupt the game. As such we are taking Akmal’s comments very seriously,” the report quoted ICC as saying in an official statement.

“We have launched an investigation and wish to speak to Mr Akmal as a matter of urgency. Our Anti-Corruption Unit is committed to working to uphold integrity in cricket and would urge anyone with any information to contact us via contactacu@icc-cricket.com,” the ICC statement added.