The ICC’s anti-corruption unit has filed charges
against eight individuals, including Bangladesh all-rounder Nasir Hossain, who
were connected to the Pune Devils franchise in the Abu Dhabi T10 event. The
accusations relate to the tournament’s 2020–21 iteration, which was held in Abu
Dhabi.
Along with Rizwan Javed and Saliya Saman, two domestic
players, Ashar Zaidi, the batting coach, Sunny Dhillon, the assistant coach,
and Shadab Ahamed, the team manager, are the other seven people charged. They
also include Nasir.
The Devils last participated in the competition in the
2021 edition. With just one victory in six Super League games, they were
eliminated in the last place.
The Emirates Cricket Board, who brought the
complaints, designated the ACU as the tournament’s monitor. From Tuesday, all
eight have two weeks to answer.
The ACU has levelled many further allegations against
the eight in addition to accusing them of failing to report any approach or
behaviour that might be considered corrupt, failing to comply with the
investigation, or attempting to stall it. The accusation against Sanghvi is
“placing bets on the results, progress” of a game. The charges
against Zaidi, Javed, Saman, and Dhillon include “being party to an
attempt to fix, contrive, or influence improperly matches or aspects of
matches.”
Additionally, Javed and Saman are accused of
“offering a reward in exchange for that player engaging in” corrupt
behaviour. The most well-known name among the eight is Hossain, a 31-year-old
all-format player who last played for Bangladesh in 2018. He’s been dragged up
for not reporting receiving a gift worth more than USD 750, a mandatory rule in
the ACU code.