ICC Suspends Three Hong Kong Players Of Pakistani Origin For Match-Fixing

Three Hong Kong players – Haseeb Amjad and brothers Nadeem and Irfan Ahmed – have been provisionally suspended with immediate effect by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching its anti-corruption code for a total of 19 counts.

They have been charged under ICC Anti-Corruption Code for their alleged involvement in match-fixing in 2014.

All the three players are of Pakistani origin. But the notable name is left-arm spinner Nadeem, who bowled 10 wicketless overs for 39 runs during the Asia Cup game against India on September 18 in Dubai.

Irfan and Haseeb last played for their country in 2014 and 2016 respectively.

The 28-year-old Irfan has nine specific charges against him for his involvement in fixing games. He is already under suspension from ICC since April 2016. Nadeem and Haseeb have been charged under five sections of ICC Code.

Under Article 2.1.1 of the ICC Code, Irfan tried to fix Hong Kong's game against Scotland on January 13, 2014, and another match against Canada on January 17 in that year.

Under article 2.4.2, he "didn't report the full details of the approaches during the two matches".

Under Article 2.1.2, he took a bribe to underperform against Zimbabwe on March 12, 2014, the ICC said.

He also failed to report corrupt approach during ICC World T20 Qualifier in June 2015 and tried to fix a World T20 match in 2016, according to the ICC.

Haseeb and Nadeem were also specifically involved in the two matches mentioned earlier and also been charged under the similar anti-corruption code of ICC.

Nadeem and Haseeb have been given two weeks' time to reply to these charges.

(With PTI inputs)