Shahzaib Hasan provisionally suspended from cricket

Batsman Shahzaib Hasan has become the fifth Pakistan player to be provisionally suspended by the PCB as part of its investigation into alleged corruption in the Pakistan Super League.

Shahzaib was suspended with immediate effect from all forms of cricket for allegedly failing to report a suspect approach in time and in full detail, and also for allegedly inducing players in corruption indirectly.

He was charged with breaching three major clauses of the PCB's anti-corruption code - 2.1.4, 2.4.4 and 2.4.5 - and was given 14 days to respond, the board confirmed.

Shahzaib, along with fast bowler Mohammad Irfan, was summoned by the PCB in relation to the investigation into alleged corruption in the PSL. ESPNcricinfo understands that Shahzaib was questioned over two days about his relations with the already suspended Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif and was asked why he had delayed reporting an approach by three days. Irfan had also been suspended for allegedly failing to report a corrupt approach.

It has been more than six years since Shahzaib last played for Pakistan and the highlight of his brief international career was the World T20 victory in 2009. His flamboyance was the defining feature of his batting but inconsistency in domestic cricket limited his career to three ODIs and 10 T20Is between 2009 and 2010. Two weeks before the PSL in UAE this year, Shahzaib scored 171 off 117 in the semi-final of the Regional One Day Cup but did not find that form with Karachi Kings, making 19 and 0 in two innings.

The corruption scandal in the PSL broke when batsmen Sharjeel and Latif were charged in February, after which an independent tribunal was set up to conduct an inquiry because the players contested some of the charges. Former Pakistan opener Nasir Jamshed was also suspended by the PCB and later arrested in the UK as part of the same investigation. He was then released on bail.