Tainted Pakistan wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal has been cleared by the International Cricket Council to seek selection in next year's World Cup squad, according to reports.
Tainted Pakistan wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal has been cleared by the International Cricket Council to seek selection in next year's World Cup squad, according to reports.
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According to a report in Cricinfo, Kamran, who has not played for Pakistan since the ODI series in England in September, asked ICC if he was facing any charges linked to the spot-fixing scandal, which was blocking his selection.
The ICC then cleared him, saying that he was not facing any charges and is free to seek a selection in the Pakistan squad for next year's World Cup in the sub-continent. Kamran, Pakistan's first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman, was ignored for the current series against South Africa.
He had undergone an appendicitis operation days before the selection and was not fit when the squad was announced.
But it was believed that the main reason behind his non-selection was the spot-fixing scandal, which have plunged Pakistan cricket in deep trouble.
Since the spot-fixing scandal, the PCB has begun implementing a rash of measures designed to eliminate corrupt influences from the game in Pakistan.
According to reports, the ICC and Pakistan Cricket Board had entered into a verbal agreement that five players -- Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, Danish Kaneria and Kamran -- will not represent Pakistan at least till the World Cup.
Though Kamran has recovered and has been playing domestic cricket for his employers National Bank, he was not chosen when wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider fled to England from Dubai halfway during the series against South Africa.
Instead, it was his brother, Adnan Akmal, who was called in for the series by PCB.
The cricket board, however, has not made any statement on why Kamran was left out. Kamran was one of two Pakistan players -- the other was Salman Butt -- who was sent notices by ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit (ACSU) after the Nottingham Test against England this summer.
The notices sought information about events related to the 2010 World Twenty20 held in the West Indies in May.
It is not yet clear whether Kamran's enquiry and the ICC's response are linked to these notices.
As part of an unofficial confidence-building measure, the board will send a list of probables for the 2011 World Cup to the ACSU to be vetted before the pool of 30 is announced on November 30.
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