Saliya Saman banned from all forms of cricket for five years under Anti-Corruption Code

Dubai, Aug 15 Former Sri Lankan domestic cricketer Saliya Saman has been banned from all forms of cricket for five years after an ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal found him guilty of breaching the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) Anti-Corruption Code.

Saman was among eight people charged in September 2023 for breaching the Code during the 2021 Abu Dhabi T10 League, where attempts to corrupt matches in the tournament were disrupted by the ICC, the Designated Anti-Corruption Official (DACO) for the purposes of the ECB’s Code for the tournament.

The ban, as per the ICC statement on Friday, is backdated to 13 September 2023, when Saman was provisionally suspended. “Following a full hearing and presentation of written and oral argument, the Tribunal found Saman guilty of: Article 2.1.1 which states, ‘Being party to an attempt to fix, contrive or influence improperly matches or aspects of matches in the Abu Dhabi T10 2021’.”

“Saman is also charged under Article 2.1.3, which reads as ‘Offering a Reward to another Participant in exchange for that player engaging in Corrupt Conduct under the Code,’ and Article 2.1.4, which talks about, ‘Directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any Participant to breach Code Article 2.1,’ said the ICC.

The development comes after Saman, along Pune Devils franchise co-owners Krishan Kumar Chaudhary and Parag Sanghvi, Bangladesh allrounder Nasir Hossain domestic player Rizwan Javed, batting coach Ashar Zaidi, assistant coach Sunny Dhillon, and team manager Shadab Ahamed were charged by the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit over alleged corrupt activities in the tournament.

In April this year, Hossain resumed playing competitive cricket in Bangladesh after serving a two-year ban from all forms of cricket due to being found guilty of breaching the anti-corruption code. ICC had said that time that from Hossain’s two-year ban, six months were suspended.

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