LAHORE - The proceedings on Sharjeel Khan's case were completed when Andrew Ephgrave, operations manager of the National Crime Agency in the UK, appeared before the three-man tribunal via Skype video call to record his statement. The final arguments are set for July 19 and the hearings will formally close on July 29 followed by the verdict announcement.  The NCA official was engaged by the tribunal as a part of an independent court witness followed by Aqib Javed's testimony. The NCA had already been working closely with the PCB in the PSL fixing investigation, tipping them with supporting evidence since the two central figures in the fixing saga - Nasir Jamshed and Yousaf Anwar - are based in England.

The PCB investigator had built a case against Sharjeel for keeping in touch with Jamshed and his acquaintance Anwar, allegedly with an intention to spot-fix. The England-based duo is already a subject of investigation in connection with bribery offences. Both were arrested and then released on bail, though the PCB had provisionally suspended Jamshed from playing any cricket.  Ephgrave, who was accompanied by a lawyer during the hearings, was cross questioned by the PCB's lawyer on July 13, followed by Sharjeel's lawyer the following day. Shaigan Ijaz, Sharjeel's lawyer, completed the hearing amicably but raised an objection against Ephgrave. He told the media that during the cross examination, the NCA official confirmed he had been in touch with PCB officials.

"In this scenario, the independent court witness isn't independent as he has been involved in the case as a party," he said after the hearing while talking to media. "During cross examination it became crystal clear that Andrew was not an impartial witness. He had met PCB's officials several times during the last five months. He was also accompanied by a lawyer and conferred with him on occasions before answering. I objected and duly brought this fact to the tribunal's notice. He produced no audio or video recording involving Sharjeel Khan. He admitted that there was no telephonic contact between Sharjeel and Yousaf Anwar."

However, Sharjeel's lawyer hasn't lodged any complaint or application against Ephgrave before the tribunal.