Eight people associated with Pune Devils franchise in the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament including Bangladesh allrounder Nasir Hossain have been charged by the ICC’ anti-corruption unit for alleged corrupt activities. The charges concern the 2020-21 edition of the tournament, which was played in Abu Dhabi.
Apart from Nasir, the other seven charged are Krishan Kumar Chaudhary and Parag Sanghvi (two of the Devils’ co-owners), Rizwan Javed and Saliya Saman (two domestic players), as well as Ashar Zaidi (batting coach), Sunny Dhillon (assistant coach) and Shadab Ahamed (team manager).
The 2021 edition was the last time the Devils were part of the tournament. They finished last with just one win in six matches in the Super League.
The ACU was appointed as the watchdog for the T10 tournament by the Emirates Cricket Board, which pressed the charges. All eight have two weeks to respond from Tuesday.
ESPNCricnfo has learned that well-known corruptors in the game, who are high on the ACU list, were trying to infiltrate the Devils camp to influence their matches. However, those attempts, the ICC said in a media release on Tuesday, were “disrupted” by the ACU.
In addition to charging the eight for not reporting any approach or any conduct that could be deemed corrupt as well as failing to cooperate in the investigation or attempting to delay it, the ACU has also laid several other charges. Sanghvi faces the charge of “placing bets on the results, progress” of a match. Zaidi, Javed, Saman and Dhillon have been charged with “being party to an attempt to fix, contrive or influence improperly matches or aspects of matches.”
Javed and Saman also face a separate charge of “offering a reward in exchange for that player engaging in” corrupt practice. Among the eight, the 31-year-old Hossain, an all-format player who last represented Bangladesh in 2018, is the most high-profile name. He has been pulled up for not reporting receiving a gift worth more than USD 750, a mandatory rule in the ACU