It is the second-longest suspension issued by the ICC’s anti-corruption division.
After Rizwan Javed, a club cricket player based in the United Kingdom, was found guilty of five separate violations of the Emirates Cricket Board’s (ECB) anti-corruption rule, the ICC banned him for seventeen and a half years. This is the second-longest sentence the ICC has ever issued.
In September 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) initially indicted eight players and officials, including Javed, for alleged corruption at the 2021 Abu Dhabi T10 competition. Only the 20-year penalty imposed on Zimbabwean cricket official Rajan Nayar in 2018 is more severe.
According to information provided by the ICC in a court filing, Javed played cricket for Cheadle Hulme Cricket Club in the Cheshire Cricket League until August 24, 2019. However, in this instance, he was being investigated for allegedly trying to bribe players in the T10 league, specifically those on the Pune Devils team in the 2020–21 campaign.
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The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecuted eight individuals, including Bangladeshi international Nasir Hossain, after claiming to have “disrupted” attempts to tamper with games last year. The ICC stated that Javed did not answer to the charges or offer cooperation, in contrast to Nasir who cooperated with the investigation and was given a two-year punishment.
Javed was found guilty of:
- Article 2.1.1 – 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).
- Article 2.1.3 – Offering a Reward to another Participant in exchange for that player engaging in Corrupt Conduct.
- Article 2.1.4 – Directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any Participant to breach Code Article 2.1 (on three separate occasions).
- Article 2.4.4 – Failing to disclose to the DACO full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in Corrupt Conduct under the Code.
- Article 2.4.6 – 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.
According to Alex Marshall, general manager of integrity at the ICC, “Rizwan Javed has received a lengthy ban from cricket for his repeated and serious attempts to corrupt professional cricketers.” “He has not expressed regret or regard for the regulations put in place to safeguard our sport. The fine imposed should illustrate that any attempt to corrupt cricket will be met with robust opposition and should serve as a warning to any corrupters attempting to target cricket at any level.”
The date of Javed’s temporary suspension, September 19, 2023, is the backdate of the ban. Michael J. Beloff KC, the head of the ICC code of conduct committee, delivered the ruling.
