Afghanistan’s Mohammad Shahzad has reported a spot-fixing approach for the upcoming Afghan Premier T20 League to the ICC.
According to a report by ESPNCricinfo, Shahzad promptly reported the corrupt approach to the team management before it was conveyed to ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit.
The wicketkeeper-batsman is currently in the UAE representing Afghanistan in the Asia Cup with the approach being made to him on Saturday. The inaugural Afghan Premier T20 League is set to take place in Sharjah from October 5 to 23.
“There was an approach made during the Asia Cup, but for their (Afghanistan’s) own T20 league,” an ICC official was quoted as saying in the report.
“The matter was reported through the right channels on Saturday and is being looked into by the anti-corruption unit,” the official added.
The ICC also recently revealed that five international skippers have been approached by bookies in the past year.
Shahzad is currently playing in the Asia Cup for Afghanistan.
“We can’t give out the names. But there have been five international captains who reported suspicious approaches,” ICC Anti-Corruption Unit chief Alex Marshall said on Monday.
“There have been 32 investigations in the last 12 months, eight involve players as suspects. Five of them involve administrators or non-playing personnel. Three of these individuals have been charged,” he added.
With new T20 leagues mushrooming around the world in recent times, ICC CEO David Richardson has warned against increased attempts by bookies to corrupt matches.
“T20 cricket has attracted new fans. With more people following the game, the risk could be bigger as there could be more attempts to corrupt those matches. Our priority is to increase the number of fans and if it so happens that Alex (Marshall) has to work a little harder, then so be it,” Richardson said on Monday.
