The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has handed down a 6-year ban to Shafiqullah Shafaq. The 30-year-old was found guilty on four charges of corruption.
In a statement released by the ACB, the corruption occurred in the inaugural Afghanistan Premier League T20 in 2018. As well as in the 2019 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
“This is a very serious offence where a senior national player is involved in the corruption of a high-profile domestic game in APL T20 2018. The player had also attempted but failed to get one of his teammates to engage in corruption in another high-profile game during the BPL 2019,” stated ACB senior anti-corruption manager, Sayed Anwar Shah Quraishi.
Shafaq has been banned from all forms of cricket until 2026. However, the wicketkeeper/batsman will be 36-years-old at that point and may not return to the game at all.
The ACB reported that Shafaq attempted to pressure one of his teammates into engaging in corruption as well. Nevertheless, Shafaq was unsuccessful in his efforts. This reportedly occurred in a BPL match in 2019.
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“It is an alert for all those players who think their illegal activities concerning the game of cricket will not be disclosed to the ACB’s.” Quraishi added.
The sentence is a warning to other players that the ACB does not take corruption lightly. The ACB is utilising every possible effort to keep the game clean.
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“During our educational program, we always instruct players to report each suspicious activity in order to keep the game of cricket and their own careers clean of any corrupt practices.” Quraishi continued.
Shafaq has represented his country in 46 T20 fixtures and 24 one-day international test matches. He last played for Afghanistan in September 2019, in a T20 game against Bangladesh.
