It is the second longest ban ever imposed by the ICC's anti-corruption unit.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has imposed a 17-and-a-half-year ban on Rizwan Javed, a club cricketer based in the UK. This is the second-longest ban ever handed out by the ICC. Javed was found guilty of five breaches of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) anti-corruption code.
He was one of eight players and officials charged by the ICC in September 2023 over allegations of corruption at the 2021 Abu Dhabi T10 league. The ban imposed on Javed is second only to the 20-year ban given to Zimbabwe cricket official Rajan Nayar in 2018.
According to a legal document by the ICC, Javed played matches for Cheadle Hulme Cricket Club in the Cheshire Cricket League until August 24, 2019. However, he was under investigation for attempting to corrupt players in the T10 league, specifically within the Pune Devils franchise during the 2020-21 season.
Last year, the ICC stated that it had disrupted attempts to corrupt games and charged eight individuals, including Nasir Hossain, a Bangladesh international. The ICC reported that Nasir had cooperated with the investigation and received a two-year ban. However, in Javed's case, the ICC stated that he did not respond to the charges or offer cooperation.
Javed has been found guilty of:
- Article 2.1.1 On three separate occasions, participating in an attempt to fix, fix or influence matches or aspects of matches in the Abu Dhabi T10 2021
- Article 2.1.3 Providing a reward to another participant in exchange for engaging in corrupt conduct.
- Article 2.1.4 prohibits any action that solicits, induces, entices, instructs, persuades, encourages, or intentionally facilitates any Participant to breach Code Article 2.1 on three separate occasions.
- Article 2.4.4 requires disclosure of full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in Corrupt Conduct under the Code to the DACO.
- Article 2.4.6 of the Code states that failing or refusing, without compelling justification, to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the DACO in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct is considered a violation.
Rizwan Javed has been banned from cricket due to his repeated and serious attempts to corrupt professional cricketers. Alex Marshall, ICC General Manager - Integrity, stated that Javed has shown no remorse and no respect for the rules that protect the sport. The imposed sanction should send a strong message to other corrupters attempting to target cricket at any level and demonstrate that any attempt to corrupt cricket will be dealt with severely.
The ban has been backdated to September 19, 2023, which is the date when Javed was provisionally suspended. Michael J Beloff KC, the chair of the ICC code of conduct committee, issued the decision.