The
Indian Premier League (
IPL) had a brush with corruption in 2018 when former Zimbabwe captain
Heath Streak leaked information from the Kolkata Knight Riders (
KKR
) camp to bookies. On Wednesday, the
International Cricket Council
(
ICC
) banned Streak for eight years after he admitted to multiple breaches of the anti-corruption codes across leagues and international matches.
Streak was the bowling coach of KKR in 2018. According to the findings of ICC's anti-corruption unit (
ACU
), Streak has been found guilty of disclosing inside information, facilitating introduction of other participants with bookies, failing to report an approach and obstructing investigation.
Former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak has admitted to being involved in activities which aid betting in the 2018 IPL, 2017
Bangladesh Premier League
, 2018 Afghanistan Premier League,
Pakistan Super League and international matches involving Zimbabwe between 2016 and 2018.
However, the ICC report states that "the offences did not affect the outcomes of any relevant matches". Streak, Zimbabwe's highest wicket-taker in Tests and ODIs, was the coach of the national team until early 2018, when he resigned.
"Heath Streak is an experienced former international cricketer and national team coach who had participated in numerous anti-corruption education sessions and was fully aware of his responsibilities under the Code,"
Alex Marshall
, ICC general manager of integrity unit, said in an ICC statement.
"As a former captain and coach, he held a position of trust and owed a duty to uphold the integrity of the game. He breached the code on several occasions, including facilitating the approach of four other players. At times, he also sought to obstruct and delay our investigations."
In a novel transaction, Streak admitted receiving two bitcoins from the alleged bookie - Mr X - which was equivalent to $35,000. The ICC's ACU started investigating the activities in mid-2018 when a few international captains reported to the world body. ICC followed the protocol of alerting the BCCI. Following investigations, Streak was removed by KKR as bowling coach.
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