International Cricket Council bans Indian player for match-fixing

The ICC has banned cricket player Mehar Chhayakar for 14 years.

India.- The Indian cricket player Mehar Chhayakar has been found guilty of seven breaches of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Cricket Canada Anti-Corruption Codes at an ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal. He’s been banned from the sport for 14 years.

Chhayakar, who spent most of his career in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was accused of fixing matches between Zimbabwe and the UAE in April 2019 and matches in the GT20 in Canada, also in 2019. He was found to have violated clause 2.1.1, which requires players not to attempt to influence the outcome, progress, conduct or any other aspect of an international match, including knowingly underperforming.

The ICC also said that Chahayakar had twice violated Clause 2.1.4, which deals with directly or indirectly soliciting, enticing, persuading or knowingly causing a participant to breach any of the provisions set out in Clause 2.1. He also violated Article 2.4.6 on how players must cooperate with investigations into possible corrupt practices and provide correct information and documentation, again twice.

In addition, the ICC ruled that Chhayakar violated Article 2.4.7, which pertains to obstructing or delaying investigations into possible corrupt practices. This includes hiding, altering or destroying any records or other information that may be relevant to the investigation.

Alex Marshal, general manager at the ICC’s Integrity Unit said: “We first encountered Mehar Chhayakar through his involvement in organising a corrupt cricket tournament in Ajman, in 2018. The charges for which he has now received a lengthy ban are further examples of his continuing efforts to corrupt and damage our sport.

“We will be relentless in pursuing and disrupting the people who try to corrupt cricket. With a ban of 14 years, the Tribunal has sent a clear message to anyone intending to corrupt our game.”