Yousuf Abdulrahim Al Balushi of Oman banned by ICC for 7 years on match-fixing charges

The Oman cricket team are currently participating in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Western Region T20 Cup 2020. Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council (ICC) recently banned Oman wicketkeeper-batsman Yousuf Abdulrahim Al Balushi on grounds of breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code. The cricketer was banned for seven years by the ICC Governing Council after he admitted to match-fixing charges and agreed to the sanctions. The move comes as a massive blow to Oman cricket, more so after losing their Oman vs Qatar ACC Western Region T20 Cup game on Monday.

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Oman vs Qatar: Yousuf Abdulrahim Al Balushi banned by ICC for seven years

The right-handed batsman accepted four charges of the anti-corruption code which are all related to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifiers 2019 held in the United Arab Emirates. Among the four offences, Yousuf Abdulrahim Al Balushi was charged with breaching the article 2.1.1 that indicates being party to an agreement of fixing any aspect of the match. He was also charged with breaching the article 2.1.4 that indicates attempting or intentionally facilitating a participant to breach article 2.1.1. Among the remaining two breaches, he was charged with 2.4.4, i.e. failing to report approaches intended to fix matches and 2.4.7, i.e. delaying an investigation carried by the Anti-Corruption Unit.

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Under the code provisions, Yousuf Abdulrahim Al Balushi admitted the charges laid down by the ICC instead of attending an Anti-Corruption Tribunal hearing. After the admission of guilt by Yousuf Abdulrahim Al Balushi, the ICC General Manager of Integrity, Alex Marshall termed the same as a serious offence. He also acknowledged that without the cricketer’s admission, the ban imposed on him could have been longer.

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Meanwhile, after the Oman vs Qatar game, Oman will now play against Maldives in their third Group A game on Tuesday, February 25. The match will be held at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground (Ministry Turf 1) in Oman. Oman won their first game of the ACC Western Region T20 Cup 2020 tournament against Bahrain by 8 wickets. However, they lost their next fixture against Qatar by 34 runs.

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