Zimbabwe batter Brendan Taylor faces a ban from the International Cricket Council (ICC) after accepting he received a USD 15,000 “deposit” for spot-fixing. Although, he said he was blackmailed and never went through with the deal.
Taylor said he was forced into accepting the money from an Indian business person in October 2019. It took him 4-months to report the incident to the ICC anti-corruption unit through he feared safety.
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Taylor tripped to India to discuss the launch of the new T20 match in Zimbabwe with the promise of USD 15,000 as paying.
“We had drinks and during the course of the evening, they openly offered me cocaine, which they themselves engaged in. I foolishly took the bait,” Taylor said in a statement released via Twitter on Monday.
“The following morning, the same men stormed into my hotel room and showed me a video taken of me the night before doing cocaine and told me that if I did not spot-fix at international matches for them, the video would be released to the public.”
Taylor states that he was handed USD 15,000 as a deposit, and agreed he would receive more than USD 20,000 when the job was complete. “I would like to place on record that I have never been involved in any form of match-fixing. I may be many things, but I am not a cheat,” he said.
“That being said, the ICC is taking the decision to impose a multi-year ban on my international cricketing career. I humbly accept this decision.”
Taylor also said that he would check into a rehabilitation facility on Tuesday to handle his substance abuse.
The ICC and Zimbabwe players have not responded to ask for comment.
The 35-year-old cricketer Taylor, who performed for Zimbabwe in 34 Tests, 205 1-dayers, and 45 T20s, In September, retired from international cricket.
Former Zimbabwe all-rounder and coach Heath Streak was banned by the ICC for 8-years last April for his role in revealing inside reports that could be used for a betting plan.
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