Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal went for an appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland against an 18-month ban imposed on him for not reporting corrupt approaches.

The development comes right after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also went for an appeal in the CAS against the reduction of a three-year ban on Akmal by an independent adjudicator.

Umar was banned for three years in April by a one-man disciplinary panel of the board after he failed to report two approaches to spot-fix matches in the Pakistan Super League in February.

On July 29, former Supreme Court Judge Mr. Justice (retd) Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, as the independent adjudicator of the board, had reduced Umar’s three-year ban to 18 months.

Akmal’s lawyer argued that the verdict should be overturned due to lack of evidence against the player.

“They don’t have a single piece of evidence that can prove any wrongdoing. The prosecution was based on a phone call, otherwise, there is no document, no bank transaction or anything that can substantiate their claim,” said lawyer representing Akmal.