Former Sharjah cricket official Ansari charged for corruption

The ICC has charged a long-serving Sharjah Cricket Council (SCC) coach Irfan Ansari on three counts of breaching their anti-corruption code. Ansari, also a tournament organising committee member, was suspended from every position he holds in UAE cricket and has 14 days, from May 19, to respond to the charge sheet.

ESPNcricinfo understands that he is the same person who had allegedly made a corrupt approach on Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed after the third ODI against Sri Lanka in October last year. The ICC had launched an investigation into the matter and, according to them, Ansari refused to cooperate with the Anti-Corruption Unit. In light of those failed meetings, in October 2017 and February 2018, the ICC felt compelled to charge him.

"Ansari is party to the code through his position as a person who is affiliated to a team that participates in International Matches and the Coach of the One Stop Tourism and Multiplex international teams who participate in domestic matches in the UAE," the ICC said in a statement. "He has been provisionally suspended with immediate effect after been charged with three counts of breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code."

An important voice in Sharjah cricket affairs, Ansari had been working alongside the SCC for the last three decades. He had been in charge of the Al Dhaid Cricket Village, where he mainly helped organise tournaments that take place in the city. He had been the head coach of the Sharjah Cricket Club until he was axed last year as part of a revamp, and had also been actively involved in Sharjah's Ramzan tournaments.