NEW DELHI, July 18: The International Cricket Council (ICC) queried on Sunday Mohammad Azharuddin's presence as a commentator at the ongoing Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, saying tainted players had no place in world cricket.

The former Indian captain, serving a life ban from cricket on match-fixing charges, was hired by an Indian news TV channel to comment on the tournament and was issued media accreditation by the organisers, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).

ICC president Ehsan Mani, on a visit to India to meet the country's cricket officials, said he would query the ACC about the accreditation. "We at the ICC are very displeased at this, because there is zero tolerance for people accused of match-fixing," Mani told reporters.

"The ICC has no power to stop Azharuddin from attending matches, but we will ask the organisers how official media accreditation was issued to him. "Tainted cricketers have no place in the game."

Azharuddin, 41, was banned for life by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2000 after being named in a match-fixing probe by the federal Central Bureau of Investigation. Azharuddin challenged the decision in a higher court of law after a lower court in his home city of Hyderabad dismissed his appeal to have the life ban lifted. -AFP