Afghan cricketer handed six-year ban for corruption

KABUL: Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman Shafiqullah Shafaq has been hit with a six-year ban after he accepted four charges of breaching the Anti-Corruption Code, said the country’s cricket board.

The charges relate to offences during the first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) T20 in 2018, where Shafaq played for the Nangarhar Leopards, and the 2019 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), where he represented Sylhet Thunder.

The 30-year-old Shafaq, who made his Afghanistan debut in 2009 and has played 24 one-day internationals and 46 Twenty20 internationals, will be banned from all forms of cricket.

“This is a very serious offence where a senior national player is involved in the corruption of a high-profile domestic game in APL T20 2018,” Afghan Cricket Board (ACB) senior anti-corruption manager Sayed Anwar Shah Quraishi said in a statement.

“The player had also attempted but failed to get one of his teammates to engage in corruption in another high-profile game during the BPL 2019.”

“It’s an alert for all those players who think their illegal activities concerning the game of cricket will not be disclosed to the ACB’s anti-corruption unit,” he added.

Quraishi said Shafaq’s admission of guilt and cooperation had helped him avoid a longer ban. Shafaq will also help with the ACB’s integrity education programs to help younger players learn from his mistakes.