Ashfaq Ahmed provisionally suspended by UAE board in relation to corruption investigation

Another UAE player has been suspended in relation to the corruption scandal that hit the team last week. Just before the start of the T20 World Cup qualifiers, the ICC charged three of their senior members with 13 breaches of its anti-corruption code. On Monday, the Emirates Cricket Board placed Ashfaq Ahmed under provisional suspension. The 34-year old is not facing any official charges yet.

Five days ago, the ICC provisionally suspended captain Mohammad Naveed and senior batsman Shaiman Anwar, charging the two players with attempts to "fix" or "improperly influence" matches in the ongoing Qualifiers. Allrounder Qadeer Ahmed was also issued the same penalty for allegedly disclosing inside information to people who were betting on cricket.

Ashfaq has played 16 ODIs and 12 T20Is for the UAE and was part of the UAE's squad in the qualifiers. He played the team's first two matches but not the third, which took place on the day the Emirates Cricket Board sent out a press release with details of his being pulled out of the tournament.

"Further to the ongoing investigations led by the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit, Emirates Cricket Board has today provisionally suspended Ashfaq Ahmed with immediate effect," it said. "No formal charges have been laid against the player, and the Board will wait for the conclusion of proceedings before making any further comment."

Both Naveed and Qadeer have spoken out since they were charged, admitting fault only for not reporting corrupt approaches made on them and nothing else. Qadeer refuted the other charges and said he was looking to appeal.