Former UAE domestic cricketer banned for 14 years for corruption

A former participant in cricket in the UAE has been banned from the sport for 14 years after being found guilty of corruption.

Mehar Chhayakar was found guilty of seven breaches of the sport’s anti-corruption code by an independent tribunal.

The charges related to UAE’s one-day international series in Zimbabwe in April 2019, as well as the Global T20 league in Canada in the same year.

His offences related to the cases which had previously seen two UAE national team players, Qadeer Ahmed and Ghulam Shabber, banned for five and four years respectively.

The ICC's anti-corruption unit said Chhayakar had also been involved in organising the Ajman Allstars, a corrupt cricket tournament which was unsanctioned that took place at the Ajman Oval.

Alex Marshall, the general manager of the ICC’s integrity unit, said the length of the ban should serve as a warning.

“We first encountered Mehar Chhayakar through his involvement in organising a corrupt cricket tournament in Ajman, in 2018,” Marshall said.

“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.”

Former UAE bowler Qadeer Ahmed. Pawan Singh / The National

Chhayakar’s offences related to “fixing or contriving to” influence improperly “the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect” of matches.

This included “directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating” a player to fix aspects of matches.

According to the ICC’s report into