ICC imposes bans on Pune Devils' officials for anti-corruption violations

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has imposed bans on Pune Devils' batting coach Ashar Zaidi and team co-owners Parag Sanghavi and Krishan Kumar Choudhary after they admitted to various breaches of the ECB Anti-Corruption Code for the T10 League.

Ashar Zaidi, the batting coach, has received a five-year ban from all cricket activities. Sanghavi and Choudhary, both co-owners of teams, have been banned for two years each, with the last 12 months of their bans suspended. These charges stem from violations that took place during the 2021 Abu Dhabi T10 Cricket League.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) charged Zaidi, Sanghavi, Choudhary, and five others in September 2023 on behalf of the ECB, acting as the Designated Anti-Corruption Official (DACO) for the tournament. The charges were admitted as follows:

Ashar Zaidi (Batting Coach):
- Article 2.1.4: Soliciting or facilitating any participant to engage in corrupt conduct.
- Article 2.4.4: Failing to disclose any approaches or invitations to engage in corrupt conduct to the DACO.

Parag Sanghavi (Team Co-owner):
- Article 2.2.1: Placing bets on the results, progress, or conduct of international and domestic matches.
- Article 2.4.6: Failing to cooperate with the DACO’s investigation without compelling justification.

Krishan Kumar Choudhary (Team Co-owner):
- Article 2.4.5: Failing to disclose any incident or matter that may indicate corrupt conduct by another participant to the DACO.
- Article 2.4.6: Failing to cooperate with the DACO’s investigation without compelling justification.

The bans are retroactively effective from September 19, 2023, the date when they were provisionally suspended.