Lahore -  Tainted opening batsman Khalid Latif has lost an appeal against a five-year ban for spot-fixing but had his one million rupee ($10,000) fine waived.

Adjudicator Justice Faqir Khokhar upheld the ban, saying there was ‘overwhelming’ evidence against Latif, but waived the fine as his career was almost over, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lawyer Taffazul Rizvi told reporters here on Wednesday. "Khalid Latif has been found guilty on all charges," he added.

"This is a vindication of what the PCB had been saying. He met bookies twice, and the second time, when he took Sharjeel Khan along with him, provided conclusive proof of his guilt. The PCB does not take pleasure from meting out punishment to any cricketer, but the law must be upheld. We need to rid ourselves of corrupt cricketers like these. I hope all other cricketers learn a lesson from this case. If anyone is even thinking of indulging in corrupt practices, they should banish the thought. And if anyone is illicitly approached, they must report it immediately," Rizvi said.

"I think the reason for the fine being set aside was that with his career over, it would have been difficult for him to pay it," Rizvi said. "Everyone knows the effects a five-year ban can have on someone," he added.

Latif, who had shown tremendous early promise as a cricketer but failed to make an impact at international level, played five One-Day Internationals and 13 T20 Internationals, the last of which was against the West Indies in Abu Dhabi in September 2016.

The scandal surfaced during the second edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in February last year, when Latif was playing for Islamabad United. He was charged with orchestrating a deal with a bookie that would see his fellow opener Sharjeel Khan deliberately playing two dot balls — deliveries off which no run is scored — in the opening match against Peshawar Zalmi in Dubai.

Spot-fixing involves determining the outcome of a specific part of a match rather than the overall result, and is therefore harder to detect than match-fixing. Sharjeel was also banned for five years — two and a half years suspended — and his appeal was rejected last November.

Paceman M Irfan and spinner M Nawaz were banned for one year and two months respectively for not reporting fixing offers. Another former opener Nasir Jamshed — alleged to have played a role as coordinator in the PSL fixing deal — was banned for one year for not cooperating with the inquiry. The decision against another international player, Shahzaib Hasan, was reserved and will be announced Saturday.

Pakistani cricket has long been tainted by allegations of spot-fixing. The most infamous incident came on the 2010 tour of England, when then-captain Salman Butt and bowlers M Amir and M Asif were all given prison sentences for conspiring to bowl deliberate no-balls in the fourth Test at Lord’s.