ICC confirmed on Tuesday that former UAE captain Mohammad Naveed and Shaiman Anwar Bhatt will be banned from all forms of cricket for eight years. The duo has been found guilty of breaching the Anti-corruption code by ICC’s anti-corruption Tribunal earlier this year. Both players were initially suspended in 2019 after they were charged for attempting to corrupt games World T-20 qualifier in UAE.
As per the detailed report from ICC’s verdict about giving ban, Naveed and Shaiman have been found guilty on the basis of the following two articles. Meanwhile, Naveed was also found guilty of breaking the corruption code of UAE cricket during the T-10 league.
Article 2.1.1 – for being party to an agreement or effort to fix or contrive or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspect(s) of a match or matches at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019.
Article 2.4.4 – Failing to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in corrupt conduct under the Code at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019.
In the past decade, ICC has been very strict about imposing heavy punishment on players that have broken the code of conduct regarding corruption in the game. Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was one of the most high-profile players in the last few years that was suspended for two years after accepting three charges under ICC’s anti-corruption code.
ICC has been working hard to eradicate the evil of match-fixing and corruption from the game. The recent reports also suggested the governing body of international cricket is close to identifying the global kingpin of match-fixing. Finding the root cause of such malpractices will help ICC to take big steps towards cleaning the game.