DUBAI: Former United Arab Emirates (UAE) captain Mohammad Naveed and batsman Shaiman Anwar Butt have been handed identical eight-year bans by a tribunal for breaching the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) anti-corruption code, the governing body said on Tuesday.

The independent tribunal found both guilty in January of attempting to fix matches of the Twenty20 World Cup Qualifier 2019 in UAE and not reporting corrupt approaches to the anti-corruption officials.

Naveed was also found guilty of similar breaches during the Emirates Cricket Board’s T10 League that year.

“Both had long international careers and were well versed in the threat from match fixers,” Alex Marshall, General Manager of ICC’s Integrity Unit, said in a statement. “That they both chose to engage with this corrupt activity was a cynical betrayal of their positions, their team-mates, and all supporters of UAE cricket.

“I am pleased that the independent tribunal has imposed significant bans from all forms of cricket and this should serve as a warning to any cricketer who considers taking the wrong path.”

The bans are backdated to Oct 16, 2019, when they were provisionally suspended.

The governing body said they also failed to disclose full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in corrupt conduct.

The 33-year-old Naveed has taken 37 wickets in 31 T20s at an average of 19.70. Shaiman, 42, has a batting average of 33 in T20s.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2021