Dubai, Feb 15 (IANS): The International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned UK-based club cricketer Rizwan Javed for 17½ years for breach of anti-corruption rules while playing in a T10 league in the United Arab Emirates. Rizwan Javed has been found guilty of five different breaches of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) Anti-Corruption Code for participants.
"Rizwan was among eight players and officials charged by the ICC on behalf of the ECB (in its capacity as the Designated Anti-Corruption Official under the Code) in September last year in relation to the 2021 Abu Dhabi T10 Cricket League and attempts to corrupt matches in that tournament, which attempts were disrupted," the ICC informed in a release on Thursday.
Michael J Beloff KC, Chair of the ICC Code of Conduct Committee (acting as the ECB’s Disciplinary Panel), decided after Rizwan failed to respond to the charges and was therefore deemed to have admitted that he has committed the offences charged, to have waived his right to a hearing and to have acceded to the imposition of a sanction.
Rizwan was found guilty of being party to an attempt to fix, contrive or influence improperly matches or aspects of matches in the Abu Dhabi T10 2021 (on three separate occasions) under Article 2.1.1.
He was also found guilty under Article 2.1.3 of offering a Reward to another participant in exchange for that player engaging in corrupt conduct.
Under Article 2.1.4, Rizwan was found guilty of directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any participant to breach Code Article 2.1 (on three separate occasions).
He was found guilty of failing to disclose to the DACO full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in corrupt conduct under the Code (Article 2.4.4).
He was found in breach of Article 2.4.6 – failing or refusing, without compelling justification, to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the DACO in relation to possible corrupt conduct under the Code.
Rizwan’s ban is backdated to September 19, 2023, the date he was provisionally suspended.
ICC General Manager Integrity, Alex Marshall, said: “Rizwan Javed has received a lengthy ban from cricket for his repeated and serious attempts to corrupt professional cricketers. He has shown no remorse and no respect for the rules that are in place to protect our sport."
"The sanction imposed should send a strong message to other corrupters trying to target cricket at any level and demonstrate that any attempt to corrupt cricket will be strongly dealt with," he added.
Besides Rizwan Javed, the others charged under various articles of the Code are Krishan Kumar Chaudhary (co-owner of a team), Parag Sanghvi (co-owner of a team), Ashar Zaidi (batting coach), Saliya Saman (domestic player UAE), Sunny Dhillon (assistant coach), Nasir Hossain (Bangladesh player) and Shadab Ahamed (team manager).
The Bangladesh player Nasir Hossain was banned for two years in a decision made public on January 16, 2024.