Umar Akmal has been suspended by the PCB with immediate effect under Article 4.7.1 of its anti-corruption code, disallowing him from taking part in any cricket-related activity under the board's purview "pending the investigation being carried out by PCB's Anti-Corruption Unit".

A PCB statement announced the development, but didn't reveal anything about the nature of the offence or the duration of the suspension.

First up, though, it will mean that Akmal will not be a part of Quetta Gladiators' title defence at the PSL, which starts on Thursday against Islamabad United.

In his place, Quetta have turned to 32-year-old allrounder Anwar Ali, who links up with the team as a Silver Category player. Ali, who turned out in 22 ODIs and 16 T20Is for Pakistan between 2008 and 2016, was a part of the Quetta squad in all the previous editions of the PSL, and has 191 runs and 23 wickets in 32 appearances.

Akmal, 29, was in the news most recently for his alleged misbehaviour with a staff member after a failed fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, which the PCB later put down to a "misunderstanding" following an inquiry. The two-day investigation looked into the incident in which Akmal, during the skin-fold test, was believed to have exposed himself in front of the trainer and asked: "Where is the fat?"

Akmal faced no sanction, only a reminder of his responsibilities, with a PCB statement saying that he had "offered his regrets" to the PCB for his action, and was in turn reprimanded and "reminded him of his responsibilities as a senior cricketer".