ICC Suspends Cricketers For Match-fixing With Indian Bookie

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned two UAE players, Amir Hayat and Ashfaq Ahmed, for eight years after they were found guilty of conspiring with an Indian bookie to fix T20 World Cup qualifying round matches in their country.

"The bans are retrospective to September 13, 2020, when they were provisionally suspended for corrupt conduct in relation to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019 in the United Arab Emirates," according to an ICC statement.

Both cricketers had taken 15,000 AED (approximately USD 4083) from an Indian bookie, identified in the ICC charge-sheet as Mr "Y", for fixing the qualifying round games. Ahmed is a batsman, while Hayat is a medium pacer.

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The duo has been charged with five counts under the ICC's anti-corruption code, including failing to disclose a corrupt approach, attempting to improperly influence the outcome of a match, and accepting gifts worth more than USD 750.

"The ICC ACU began an investigation into allegations that members of the UAE senior international team may have had dealings with a known corruption network controlled by an Indian man in October 2019," according to the detailed ICC judgment.

Hayat and Ahmed had both attended four and three anti-corruption education sessions organised by the ICC, according to the judgment.

"According to WhatsApp messages between the players and [Mr Y], they were attempting to arrange a meeting on September 7, 2019, at which they would be given details about what they would be expected to do in the Qualifiers." However,  the meeting didn’t take place.