Brendan Taylor has been banned for three and half years. The International Cricket Council (ICC), which made the announcement on Friday (January 28), said the former Zimbabwe captain has confessed to his involvement in anti-corruption activity. He was found guilty for breaching four charges of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code and, separately, one charge of the ICC Anti-Doping Code. A few days ago, Taylor had made a disclosure through his social media handle that he had accepted money from a dubious Indian businessman but said was not a cheat. "I may be many things but I am not a cheat," the former wicketkeeper batsman had said.The ICC said Taylor chose to admit the charges under the provisions of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code and agreed to the sanctions in lieu of an Anti-Corruption Tribunal hearing. "The first of Taylor's anti-corruption breaches was for failing to disclose “(without unnecessary delay) the receipt of any gift, payment, hospitality or other benefit that (a) the participant knew or should have known was given to them to procure a breach of the Code or (b) that was made or given in circumstances that could bring the participant or the sport of cricket into disrepute," read an official media release" by the ICC.
In a confession on social media, Taylor had claimed that he was invited by the businessman to India to discuss “sponsorships” and the potential launch of a T20 event in Zimbabwe. He was also offered USD 15,000 in October 2019 as a deposit for spot-fixing."Taylor was also guilty of not disclosing “(without unnecessary delay), a receipt of gifts/hospitality with a value of US$750 or more regardless of the circumstances in which they were given.""The third charge was not disclosing “(without unnecessary delay), full details of the approach received to engage in corrupt conduct under the Code” including in relation to a then upcoming series against Sri Lanka and/or Bangladesh."In the fourth and final charge, Taylor breached the Code by obstructing or delaying an Anti-Corruption Unit investigation, including “concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information that may be relevant to that investigation and/or that may be evidence of or may lead to the discovery of evidence of corrupt conduct under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code," it further stated.Taylor had also acknowledged the delay in reporting the incident to the ICC in order to protect his family. Taylor, however, denied ever having cheated in international cricket.
