Daily Times

LAHORE: United Arab Emirates players Amir Hayat and Ashfaq Ahmed have been banned from all cricket for eight years after breaching the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption Code, the governing body announced on Thursday. The bans are backdated to September 2020, when the players were provisionally suspended for corrupt conduct in relation to an ICC T20 World Cup qualifying tournament in the UAE in the previous year. The ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal found both players guilty of “seeking, accepting, offering or agreeing to accept any bribe or other reward” to influence matches. They were also found guilty on a range of other charges related to corruption. Alex Marshall, ICC general manager of the Integrity Unit, said in a statement: “Both Amir and Ashfaq had played cricket at the highest level for long enough to understand the threat from match-fixers. The two UAE players attended several ICC anti-corruption education sessions, and knew how to avoid becoming involved in any corrupt activity. They failed in these obligations and let down their teammates and everyone involved in UAE cricket, in their adopted country. Their lengthy ban should serve as a warning to others.” The ruling means five UAE players ––- Mohammad Naveed, Shaiman Anwar and Qadeer Ahmed ––- have received bans of varying degrees over the last two years. While Qadeer is in the middle of a five-year ban, Naveed and Anwar were banned for eight years.