T20 World Cup 2024: ICC Acts Against Corruption Approach To Uganda Player

Bridgetown (Barbados), Jun 18: The issue of corruption in cricket remains a significant challenge for the sport's administrators. Recently, an incident involving a former Kenya international and a Uganda player at the ongoing T20 World Cup was swiftly addressed by the ICC's anti-corruption unit.

The incident occurred during the league stage matches in Guyana. A former Kenya pacer attempted to contact a Ugandan team member multiple times using different phone numbers. Following the ICC's strict anti-corruption protocol, the Ugandan player reported the approach to the on-site ACU officials. This led to a red flag being raised against the former Kenya player, with all associate teams being informed about him.

"It is not a surprise that this person targeted a player from the Ugandan national team. Associate nations, as compared to the big teams, are soft targets for corruption but in this case, the player who was approached did the needful by informing the ICC at the earliest," a source told PTI.

Failure to report a corrupt approach is an offence under the ICC's anti-corruption code. Other offences include match-fixing, betting on the game, misuse of inside information, and failing to cooperate with an investigation.

Uganda concluded their T20 World Cup campaign with a win over Papua New Guinea and losses to Afghanistan, New Zealand, and the West Indies in Trinidad on Friday. Uganda, participating for the first time alongside Canada and co-hosts USA, played three of their four league games in Guyana.

"Players are approached all the time, more so from smaller nations. In bigger events like the T20 World Cup, there is more scrutiny and if an approach is conveyed to the ICC ACU, then due protocol is followed and a proper investigation is conducted," said another source.

Effective from June 1, the ICC updated its anti-corruption code to empower both the governing body and its member boards to "proactively and thoroughly investigate incidents of corruption in the ongoing effort to protect the integrity of the game."

The anti-corruption code applies to all cricket played under the ICC's auspices and includes all participants such as players, coaches, trainers, managers, selectors, team owners or officials, doctors, physiotherapists, match referees, pitch curators, player agents, umpires, as well as ICC and NCF officials.

Participants are bound by this code for two years after their last involvement in any form of official cricket. The maximum possible sanction for severe breaches of this code is a life ban from all involvement in cricket. In some countries, criminal sanctions may also apply.

Historical Context

All international players are regularly briefed about potential threats and are well-versed with the anti-corruption code. Corrupt approaches at major events are not new. During the 2011 ODI World Cup in India, Canada's then 20-year-old wicket-keeper Hamza Tariq was approached by alleged bookmakers. He reported the matter to authorities promptly.