In a strange series of events, ex-Zimbabwe official Rajan Nayer has been suspended for 20 years from all cricketing activities due to his involvement in match-fixing allegations.
As per the ICC media release, Nayer was charged with three offences:
1. Article 2.1.1 - being party to an effort to fix or contrive or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspects of an International match or matches.
2. Article 2.1.3 - offering Mr. Cremer US $30,000 to fix or contrive or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspects of an International match or matches.
3. Article 2.1.4 - directly soliciting, inducing, enticing or encouraging Mr. Cremer to breach Article 2.1.1.
The former Zimbabwe official approached the Zimbabwe skipper to put forward his influence on the outcome of ahead of the Test series against the Windies in October 2017.
"I was appalled to be approached by someone so closely connected to the game and there was no doubt in my mind that I had to report it as soon as I could. We receive education around this which you never expect to have to use, but it certainly helped when it came to knowing what to do," Cremer said.
"I think it is important that corrupters receive strong sanctions as it sends out a message to others who might consider getting involved. For any cricketer who might find themselves in my position, my message is really simple - report it. The ICC will take any report seriously and will deal with you professionally and with respect. If we are to kick corruption out of the game, we must all play our part," the captain said.
Alex Marshall, General Manager of ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), stated: "I welcome the result of the investigation and the substantial sanction imposed upon Mr. Nayer. It is important that the seriousness of his offences were reflected in the length of ban."
"I would like to place on record my thanks to Graeme Cremer, who has acted with the utmost professionalism throughout this process. Immediately after he received the approach from Mr. Nayer he reported it to the ICC and we were able to get an investigation underway swiftly. Graeme has been involved and updated throughout the investigation and has played a critical role in ensuring that corruption has no place in our sport."
Cremer, who reported the incident immediately to the ICC, reckoned such issues should be eradicated from the game and urged all the players around the world to report them to the ICC at the earliest.
