Disgraced former Pakistan opener Sharjeel Khan took the first step towards resurrecting his career on Monday by apologising for indulging in the spot-fixing in 2017 that earned him a five-year ban.
Sharjeel, 30, met Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) anti-corruption officials who told him to undergo a rehabilitation programme, putting him on track to return to the sport, Agence France-Presse reported.
Addressing reporters outside Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Sharjeel said he offered an "unconditional apology to the Pakistan Cricket Board, my teammates, fans and family for the irresponsible conduct that brought embarrassment to everyone".
"I request for forgiveness and assure I will show more responsibility in my future actions," he said.
The left-hander was a rising star and playing in the second edition of the Pakistan Super League in Dubai when he was charged with deliberately not scoring on two balls at a certain time of the match in return for money from bookmakers.
Pakistan has a long and sordid history of spot-fixing - where a specific part of a game is rigged, as opposed to match-fixing, where the whole result is.
Half of Sharjeel's ban was suspended.
The PCB said he has been given a roadmap to revive his career.
"Sharjeel has completed his two-and-a-half years of ineligibility and will now complete rehabilitation before the end of the year and then reintegrate into top-level cricket," the board said.
The rehabilitation, among other things, will also include attending and delivering lectures on the PCB Anti-Corruption Code.
Sharjeel will also have to visit orphanages as part of community service, and participate in integration sessions with Pakistan's national players and support personnel.
In his statement, Sharjeel reminded fellow players to adhere to the PCB's anti-corruption code.
"I remind all cricketers to strictly and religiously follow the PCB Anti-Corruption Code as breaching it will only earn momentary gains but the consequences will be severe and last for rest of the career," he said.
"I have agreed on the future course of action with the PCB, including helping it in its education sessions on anti-corruption. I will soon return to club cricket but will not rush into domestic cricket as I have been away for nearly 30 months and need time to reclaim my fitness and form."
Before Monday's redress, Sharjeel had maintained his innocence and denied all charges, appealing against the ban before an independent arbitrator, and then in court, only to have it rejected.
Asif Mahmood, director of the PCB's security and anti-corruption unit, said: "I hope this serves as a reminder to all those who think they can get away with violating rules as the PCB is vigilant and committed to eliminate the menace of corruption from the game."
Sharjeel has played one Test, 25 one-day internationals and 15 T20 matches.
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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'Saand Ki Aankh'
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
