Emirati man banned from cricket for 14 years for match fixing

A domestic player from the United Arab Emirates has been banned from all cricket for 14 years after being found guilty of seven charges relating to match-fixing in an international series in April 2019 and a Twenty20 franchise tournament in Canada later that year.

The International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption Tribunal held a hearing on Wednesday and issued a statement announcing a lifetime ban on Mehardeep Chhayakar.

Chhavakar, a wicketkeeper-batter who played for top UAE league teams and then an Under-19 Asian club tournament in 2012, was barred from the sport after two former UAE national team players admitted to violating the sport’s anti-corruption code in regards to approaching him.

All charges have been denied by Chhavakar. He was convicted of contriving to influence a player to fix a result by deliberately underperforming in UAE matches against Zimbabwe in April 2019 and the Global T20 tournament in Canada later that year, of soliciting or inducing players to breach anti-corruption regulations, of failing or refusing to cooperate with an investigation, and of obstructing or delaying an investigation.

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