Hong Kong cricketers Irfan and Nadeem get life bans for match-fixing

Irfan Ahmed and Nadeem Ahmed, who play for the Hong Kong national cricket team, have been handed life bans from all cricket by the International Cricket Council after being found guilty of match-fixing while a third player, Haseeb Amjad, has been banned for five years by the national governing body's Anti-Corruption Tribunal.

All three players were found guilty of breaching the Anti-Corruption Code after the ICC Tribunal found that all three "fixed or contrived to fix matches, failed, for reward, to perform and failed to disclose approaches to fix" during a number of international fixtures across a two-year period.

All-rounder Irfan Ahmed has played 6 ODIs and 8 T20Is for Hong Kong while spinner Nadeem Ahmed has featured in 25 ODIs and 24 T20Is. Medium pacer Haseeb Amjad has played 25 international matches so far - 7 ODIs and 18 T20Is for Hong Kong.

"This has been a long and complex investigation which has uncovered systematic attempts to influence moments in matches by experienced international cricketers over a period of time. Their conduct was premeditated and sophisticated and each of the Ahmed brothers sought to corrupt others.

"The main offences relate to the Hong Kong matches against Scotland and Canada where the players fixed specific overs. These matches were won by Hong Kong so it did not materially affect the results of the tournament, however I cannot reiterate strongly enough to any player considering this that we treat any form of fixing - spot or match - with the upmost seriousness.

"With the fixers finding it harder than ever before to penetrate the highest levels of the game, we are increasingly seeing them turn their attention to other avenues in the sport and we will continue to work with Members to ensure players at all levels are educated about the dangers of corruption.

"The severity of the offences is reflected in the sanctions and I hope will deter other players from taking this path and demonstrate to cricket fans around the world our commitment to a corruption free sport," Alex Marshall, ICC General Manager - ACU said in a statement.

Source: India Today