ICC ACU head worried over corruption in T20 leagues, cites Afghanistan example for success

International Cricket Council on Tuesday imposed eight-year bans on United Arab Emirates (UAE) cricketers Mohamm Naveed and Shaiman Anwar Butt. two cricketers were found guilty of breaching ICC Anti-Corruption Code as y tried to fix matches in T20 World Cup qualifier in 2019.

ICC ACU General Manager opens up on corruption in cricket and reveals strategies to curb issue

While cricket as a sport has me great strides in associate nations, it has come at a cost. issues like match fixing in cricket, illegal activities and corruption have become a part of sport with players being exposed to illegal betting, spot-fixing and ball-tampering etc. Recently, ICC Anti-Corruption Unit General Manager Alex Marshall opened up on match fixing in cricket, corruption and how T20 leagues are causing a threat to game.

While speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Marshall said that thing which makes top associate nations so attractive to corruptors and match-fixers is relatively low cricket income of people from Nepal, UAE, Oman and some of African cricket nations. He furr said that players from se countries are being paid very little if anything at all Marshall cited example of Zimbabwe to explain his point.

ICC ACU General manager stated that Zimbabwe are among poorest of full member nations which is why players re are being offered $30,000 to commit corrupt conduct. On or hand,  players in Associates are offered $10,000. while players in European club matches get offered 3,000 Euros. According to Marshall, that's sort of scale of offers. Elaborating on same, he reckoned that an offer of $10,000 to a player in some of se countries is an awful lot of money. Marshall furr said that an offer of $30,000 in Zimbabwe would probably help one buy a house.

Speaking about strategies to curb se activities, Marshall said that at ICCir fundamental objective is to see growth and development of cricket. He ded that idea that Associates are going to get better and more extensive coverage is absolutely brilliant and y celebrate it along with everyone else. Marshall acknowledged that y also recognise that more popular any form of cricket becomes, more likely it is that corruptors will target it which is why y are doing a whole lo of different things.

He revealed that one of things is that y're working with all Associates, but particularly ones who are higher risk, to provide m with material around education and what y should do in event of anyone receiving an approach or things for m to look out for in way y run ir matches. Marshall opined that y will also risk assess which of those matches are most likely to be targeted and subsequently put-put anti-corruption resources into that particular match.

Marshall also spoke on how Afghanistan Premier League is a more favourable option for bookies. Comparing APL to a Test match, Marshall said that with its evening short-form matches, APL is a much more attractive option to viewing audience which is why y're going to bet on it. He furr said that corruptors go after leagues like APL and Global T20 Cana because y like weak governance chaos because it allows m in.

Marshall reiterated that bookies love franchise events where all teams have not been sold with three weeks to go and people running event are desperate to secure next owner or next two owners at last minute. According to Marshall, corruptors look for se opportunities and APL is a very good example of poor governance, an appalling run event, dreful accreditation and a whole host of or issues that just means it is very attractive to corruptors.

Marshall stated that y absolutely want to see a higher profile for Associate cricket and he thinks it's coming because of pathway and qualifier events where according to him, some excellent cricket will be played. Citing example of Afghanistan cricket, Marshall said that a number of Afghan players (Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Mohamm Nabi) have risen to prominence and are playing around world which makes him believe that more new players will come through. 

SOURCE: ICC-CRICKET.COM