International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed on Wednesday that former Zimbabwe cricketer Heath Streak was banned for breaching the ICC code of conduct. It was announced that Heath Streak would be banned for eight years from all forms of the game. He had five corruption charges on him, including one related to his stint as a bowling coach of Kolkata Knight Riders during the 2018 IPL season.
Streak formerly coached the Zimbabwe national side, but he was sacked for failing to qualify for the 2019 World Cup in England. He was also the bowling coach of Bangladesh and Kolkata Knight Riders. The inside information was passed on to one of the Indian bookies. Streak was reportedly gifted bitcoins worth $35000 each and also an iPhone.
Streak was found guilty of trying to introduce multiple players to a corruptor including players of the team he was a part of. One of the charges was also related to the tri-series involving Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, and the Afghanistan -Zimbabwe series. Matches from IPL 2018 and 2019 APL were also involved. The former Zimbabwe cricketer failed to report on any of the gifts he received.
ICC anti-corruption head In a statement said “Heath Streak is an experienced former international cricketer and national team coach, who had participated In numerous anti-corruption education sessions and was fully aware of his responsibilities under the code.”
According to ICC, the malpractice by Streak did not impact the outcome of the games. After initially contesting the charges, he eventually accepted the charges and now will remain out of the game till 2029. This news caused Shockwave around the cricketing world and specifically to the Zimbabwean cricketing community. Heath Streak was considered the best bowler ever to represent African country.