Hong Kong cricket star Irfan Ahmed faces sanctions after being charged with anti-corruption offence
The 26-year-old all-rounder is accused of failing to report an approach by a match fixer involved with the Lou Vincent case
The International Cricket Council on Monday confirmed that it has charged and provisionally suspended Hong Kong all-rounder Irfan Ahmed for an anti-corruption offence following the 26-year-old’s failure to report an approach by a match-fixer involved in the case of disgraced New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent.
Irfan, who is due to feature at the World Twenty20 championship in India in March and is a former Hong Kong cricketer of the year, faces a possible ban of between two and five years if found guilty before an International Cricket Council tribunal of an allegation he failed to report to authorities an offer made to him by an alleged match-fixer, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Irfan's batting performances were one of the highlights at the recent world Twenty20 qualifiers and went a long way to helping Hong Kong qualify for a second successive World Twenty20 championship.
We must always put player welfare at the centre of our concerns and no matter what, there is a young man here who needs to be our immediate concern
The Sydney Morning Herald website report said Irfan was approached by one of the same alleged fixers who paid Vincent to corrupt county matches in England.