Between 2022 and 2023, the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit handed out bans to players from multiple associate and emerging cricket nations — underscoring that corruption in franchise cricket leagues targeting smaller-nation players remained cricket's most persistent integrity challenge.
The ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) Annual Reports for 2022 and 2023 documented a sustained pattern of corruption targeting players from associate and emerging cricket nations — particularly those playing in franchise T20 leagues across the Gulf, South Asia, and the Caribbean.
Players from nations including Zimbabwe, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Namibia, and several Pacific Island nations faced investigation and in many cases formal bans during this period. The pattern was consistent: corruptors — typically operating through intermediaries and messaging apps — would approach players for spot-fixing, identifying lower-paid cricketers in smaller leagues as vulnerable targets.
The bans ranged from two years (for failure to report approaches) to eight years (for active participation in fixing). The ACU specifically highlighted that encrypted messaging applications had made it harder to trace corrupt communications, while increasing the volume of approaches players were receiving.
Cricket in the Gulf region — home to multiple T20 franchise leagues with lesser scrutiny than the IPL or PSL — was identified as a high-risk environment. Several leagues in this period underwent enhanced ICC scrutiny, and some had their sanctioned status reviewed.
The pattern reinforced what cricket administrators had argued for years: that while Test cricket's corruption landscape had improved since the high-profile scandals of 2000 and 2010, the proliferation of franchise leagues had created new access points for corruptors that the ICC was constantly working to monitor.
ICC ACU Annual Report 2022 highlights associate-nation vulnerability
Multiple UAE-based league players investigated
Zimbabwe Cricket faces ongoing ACU scrutiny over player bans
Nepal Cricket players receive bans for failure to report corrupt approaches
ICC tightens reporting requirements and increases ACU presence at franchise leagues
“The threat is not diminishing. As the game grows globally, the number of access points for corruptors grows with it. Our message to every cricketer at every level is simple: report it when it happens.”
The ICC invested further resources in the ACU following the 2022-23 wave of cases, increasing its education program outreach to associate member nations and adding ACU officers to smaller franchise leagues. The challenge of covering hundreds of leagues with limited resources remained ongoing.
Multiple players across associate nations received bans ranging from 2 to 10 years. Several were for failure to report approaches, reflecting the ICC's position that reporting corruption is a mandatory obligation for all cricketers.
South Africa vs Various
7 April 2000
South African captain Hansie Cronje was found guilty of match fixing after Delhi Police intercepted phone calls between Cronje and an Indian bookmaker, Sanjay Chawla.
South Africa vs England
18 January 2000
Hansie Cronje engineered a contrived result at Centurion after rain had washed out most of the Test, later revealed to have been done at the behest of a bookmaker in exchange for a leather jacket and cash.
India vs Various
5 December 2000
Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin was banned for life by the BCCI after the CBI found evidence of his involvement in match fixing, based on revelations from the Hansie Cronje investigation.