Brendan Taylor has been banned by the ICC for three and a half years for breaching four charges of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code and the Anti-Doping Code.
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Brendan Taylor, the Zimbabwe skipper who admitted to not reporting match-fixing approaches a couple of years ago, has been banned by the ICC for three and a half years. Taylor made the startling revelation on his social media account a couple of days ago. In that, he had outlined his harrowing story of how he was lured by an Indian businessman into spot-fixing matches in cricket. Brendan Taylor has clarified that he never fixed matches while he was playing for his country.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned Brendan Taylor on four charges. The three charges are related to the anti-corruption code while there is one offense under the anti-doping code. Taylor has not contested the charges and will serve his three-and-a-half-year ban. He was charged under Article 2.4.2, Article 2.4.3, Article 2.4.4, and Article 2.4.7.
Read – Shocking! Brendan Taylor admits to spot-fixing
The article on 2.4.7 found Taylor guilty of obstructing or delaying an ACU investigation. Article 2.4.4 explicitly stated that Taylor has failed to disclose to the Anti-Corruption Unit full details of the approach received to engage in corrupt conduct under the Code including in relation to Zimbabwe‘s then-upcoming series against Sri Lanka and/or Bangladesh.
Brendan Taylor, the Zimbabwe captain, has made a shocking statement on his Twitter handle. Taylor admitted that he failed to report in time to the ICC an approach to spot fix matches. All of this took place in 2019 when Taylor was lured to India to attend a party by an Indian businessman. It was to discuss sponsorship and the potential launch of a T20 competition in Zimbabwe. He was given an initial offer of USD 15,000. Once he went to the party in India, he ‘foolishly’ took cocaine. Once in his hotel room, he had six people waiting for him.
His cocaine consumption was filmed secretly. The video was shown to Brendan Taylor the next morning and he was given an ultimatum. If he did not agree to spot-fix matches, the video would be public.
“The timing was such that we hadn’t been paid for six months by Zimbabwe cricket and it was questionable whether Zimbabwe would be able to continue playing in the international arena. So, I made the journey. The discussions took place, as he had said, and on our last night in the hotel, the businessman and his colleagues took me for a celebratory dinner. We had drinks and during the course of the evening they openly offered me cocaine. They themselves engaged in. I foolishly took the bait,” Taylor wrote in his Twitter handle.
Taylor has revealed that the ordeal has had a severe impact on his physical and mental health. Statistically, Brendan Taylor is the most decorated Zimbabwe batsman and keeper in their history after Andy Flower. In 205 ODIs, he smashed 6684 runs at an average of 35 with 11 centuries. In Tests, he hit six centuries in 34 matches at an average of 36. Taylor made his debut in 2004 against Australia in Harare. He retired from international cricket after the end of the ICC World Cup 2015, scoring a century against India in Auckland.
After signing a three-year Kolpak deal for Nottinghamshire, Taylor came back to the Zimbabwe fold in 2019 and played against Bangladesh and Ireland in Tests and ODIs. In his last Test as captain against Bangladesh, he hit 81 and 92 against Bangladesh in Harare.
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