In cricket, match fixing occurs as a match is played to a completely or partially pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. In particular, players have been approached by bookmakers and bribed to throw matches or aspects of matches (such as the toss), or provide other essential information. Fixing has happened in both international - including Test matches and One Day Internationals - and domestic cricket. Banning a cricketer from playing cricket for varying durations may be one of the penalties for those found guilty of match-fixing charges. Such a ban is issued by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the sport's governing body, or by the respective cricket board to which the offending player belongs. A ban may be for match fixing or spot-fixing. Both are misdemeanours banned under the ICC Cricket Code of Conduct.
International cricket PlayerNational teamLength of banDetailsReference1Saleem MalikLife ban (Overturned in 2008)Banned in 2000 for offering bribes. First cricketer to be banned for lifetime for corruption, and also first cricketer to be jailed.2Ata-ur-RehmanLife ban (lifted in 2006)Banned in 2000 for dealings with bookmakers. 3 Mohammad AzharuddinLife ban (Overturned in 2012) Alleged in 2000 for associating with bookmakers and for allegedly providing information to bookies and introducing Hansie Cronje to betting. On 8 November 2012, the life ban was overturned as the case was deemed unsustainable 4 Ajay Sharma Life ban (later lifted by BCCI in 2014) Found guilty in 2000 for associating with bookmakers. 5 Ajay Jadeja 5 years (Overturned in 2003) Alleged to have associated with bookmakers. 6 Manoj Prabhakar 5 years In 2000 he tried to implicate Kapil Dev and others, but it backfired as he was found guilty himself. 7 Hansie Cronje Life ban Guilty of accepting monetary rewards from bookmakers for providing information and for fixing matches. 8 Herschelle Gibbs 6 months Initially agreed to under-perform in an ODI game at Nagpur, but reneged on the deal and scored 74 off just 53 balls. 9 Henry Williams 6 months Initially agreed to under-perform in an ODI game at Nagpur by conceding more than 50 runs off 10 overs, however got injured after bowling 11 legitimate deliveries and 6 wides, conceding 11 runs. 10 Maurice Odumbe 5 years Receiving money from bookmakers. 11 Marlon Samuels 2 years Passing on team information to an alleged bookmaker. 12 Mohammad Amir 5 years Bowling planned no-balls against England in August 2010. In November 2011 he was sentenced to six months in a young offenders institution by Southwark Crown Court, England, for conspiracy to cheat at gambling and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments. 13 Mohammad Asif 7 years (2 years suspended) Bowling planned no-balls against England in August 2010. In November 2011 he was sentenced to 12 months in prison by Southwark Crown Court, England, for conspiracy to cheat at gambling and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments. 14 Salman Butt 10 years (5 years suspended) Orchestrating the bowling of no-balls against England in August 2010. In November 2011 he was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison by Southwark Crown Court, England, for conspiracy to cheat at gambling and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments. 15 Danish Kaneria Life ban Arrested in 2010 by police investigating "match irregularities" whilst playing for Essex, but was cleared of allegations. However, he was found guilty by an England and Wales Cricket Board disciplinary panel and banned for life, a decision which the Pakistan Cricket Board agree to abide to. Kaneria appealed the decision in 2013 but the ban was upheld. In October 2018, Kaneria finally admits to his involvement in 2009 spot-fixing scandal. 16 Mohammad Ashraful 8 years (3 years suspended) Banned for his involvement in fixing in the 2013 season of the Bangladesh Premier League season 2. 17 Shariful Haque Indefinite period Banned in September 2012 for approaching players to fix matches in the Bangladesh Premier League 18 Lou Vincent Life ban (Partially overturned in 2023) Initially banned for failure to report an approach to fix a game in the Bangladesh Premier League for 3 years but was then banned for life after match fixing in English Domestic Cricket. 19 Kaushal Lokuarachchi 18 months Banned for failure to report an approach to fix a game in the Bangladesh Premier League. 20 Gulam Bodi 20 years Attempting to fix matches in the Ram Slam Twenty20 competition matches in South Africa. 21 Irfan Ahmed 30 months Banned in April 2016 for failure to disclose "full details of approaches or invitations to engage in corrupt conduct that had been made to him between January 2012 and January 2014" 22 Thami Tsolekile 12 years Banned in August 2016 for "contriving to fix" in the 2015 Ram Slam, and failing to disclose the full details of an approach. 23 Sharjeel Khan 5 years Banned in August 2017 for spot-fixing charges in the Pakistan Super League. 24 Lonwabo Tsotsobe 8 years Banned in August 2015 over match fixing 25 Alviro Petersen 2 years Banned in 2016 over match fixing26 Shakib Al Hasan 1 year Banned from all cricket for failing to report bookie approaches in October 201927 Umar Akmal 3 years Banned from all cricket in April 2020 for failing to report corrupt approaches28Shafiqullah Shafaq6 yearsBanned from all cricket in May 2020 for attempting to fix matches in the 2019-20 Bangladesh Premier League and 2018 Afghanistan Premier League.29Shaiman Anwar8 yearsBanned from all cricket in March 2021 for attempting to fix matches in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier in April 2019.30Mohammad Naveed8 yearsBanned from all cricket in March 2021 for attempting to fix matches in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier in April 2019.31Qadeer Ahmed5 yearsBanned from all cricket in April 2021 for attempting to fix matches in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier in April 2019.32Amir Hayat8 yearsBanned from all cricket in July 2021 for attempting to fix matches in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier in April 2019.33Ashfaq Ahmed8 yearsBanned from all cricket in July 2021 for attempting to fix matches in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier in April 2019.34Heath Streak8 years Heath Streak accepted two bitcoins (worth ~$35,000) and an iPhone from a corruptor named Deepak Agarwal ("Mr. X"). In return, he disclosed inside information on T20 franchise leagues and facilitated corrupt approaches to other players, even deleted messages during inquiry.35Shohely AkhterBangladesh5 yearsFirst female cricketer banned for corruption after receiving a five-year suspension for offering a teammate 2 million Taka via Facebook Voice Notes to spot-fix during the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup, an offer the player rejected and reported to the ICC.
Domestic cricket
YearPlayerDomestic teamLength of banDetailsReference 2012 Mervyn Westfield Essex 5 years Arrested in 2010 by police investigating "match irregularities" whilst playing for Essex. He was convicted of conspiracy to defraud as part of a spot fixing scam and received a four-month prison sentence. 2012 TP Sudhindra Deccan Chargers Life ban "Receiving a consideration to spot-fix" in a domestic game. 2012 Mohnish Mishra Pune Warriors India 1 year Bringing the game into disrepute through "loose talk and unsubstantiated bragging". 2012 Amit Yadav Kings XI Punjab 1 year Spot fixing and match fixing. 2012 Abhinav Bali Kings XI Punjab 1 year Spot fixing and match fixing. 2012 Shalabh Srivastava Kings XI Punjab 5 years Agreeing to and negotiating terms to fix a match. 2013 Ankeet Chavan Rajasthan Royals Life ban Spot fixing. 2013 Amit Singh Rajasthan Royals 5 years Acted as a middleman between the bookies and the Rajasthan Royals cricketers. 2013 Siddharth Trivedi Rajasthan Royals 1 year Failed to report that bookies approached him, even though he had no involvement in match fixing or spot fixing. 2014 Naved Arif Sussex Life ban Banned for life after admitting to breaching the board's Anti-Corruption Code regarding corrupt activity in connection with the CB40 fixture between Sussex and Kent at Hove in August 2011 2013 Ajit Chandila Rajasthan Royals Life ban Spot fixing 2013 Hiken Shah Mumbai 5 years Illegal approach 2013 Shanthakumaran Nair SreesanthRajasthan RoyalsLife ban (reduced to 7 years)Gave 14 runs in an over as planned in an IPL match for Rajasthan Royals against Kings XI Punjab on 9 May 2013. He was arrested on 16 May 2013 for accepting money from bookies to underperform, but was released on bail a month later and acquitted by court . 2016 Ethy MbhalatiTitans 10 years Spot Fixing 2016 Jean SymesHighveld Lions 7 years Failing to report a payment 2016 Pumelela MatshikweHighveld Lions 10 years Spot Fixing 2017 Sharjeel Khan Spot Fixing in PSL 2017 Nasir Jamshed Spot Fixing in PSL 2017 Khalid Latif Spot Fixing in PSL 2017 Mohammad Irfan Penalised for not reporting approach by bookies in PSL 2017 Mohammad Nawaz Suspended for failing to report a suspect approach in PSL 2018 Shahzaib Hasan Banned for failing to disclose a fixing offer during the PSL 2023 Asif AfridiKhyber Pakhtunkhwa2 yearsBanned for two breaches of the board's Anti-Corruption Code2023 Marlon Samuels6 yearsBanned for accepting favours that brought himself and the game into disrepute and concealing information from the investigating authorities2024 Devon ThomasKandy Falcons5 yearsBanned for seven charges including match-fixing 2024 Nasir Hossain2 yearsBanned for failing to report payment and two other charges 2024 Praveen JayawickramaJaffna Kings1 yearBanned for failing to report a match-fixing approach and obstructing investigation 2026 Akhilesh ReddyAspin Stallions8 yearsBanned for three charges including match-fixing and obstructing an investigation
References
External links ICC Anti-Corruption Code BBC article on match fixing Transcript of BBC Panorama programme on match fixing in 2001