5 international cricketers who got banned by ICC in 2021
2021 has been a year of hope for all cricket fans. After missing their favorite sport for months in 2020, cricket has resumed in full flow in 2021. League cricket, domestic cricket and international cricket is happening all over the world. The demand of cricketers has increased once again.
However, not all cricketers have had a memorable 2021 so far. Some of them have received punishments for their wrongdoings in the past. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is very strict when it comes to match-fixing and corruption in the sport. Over the years, the central cricket governing body has banned many players because of their unethical works. In this listicle today, we will glance at those five current and former international cricketers who got banned in 2021.
1. One of the best Zimbabwean cricketers of all time - Heath Streak
Heath Streak is a former Zimbabwean all-rounder who played 65 Tests and 189 ODI matches. Streak also played for the Ahmedabad Rockets in the Indian Cricket League. Many cricket fans respect him for his contribution to the Zimbabwean cricket team.
However, ICC banned Heath Streak from cricket for eight years because of his actions that breached anti-corruption code. According to the reports, Streak leaked inside information during the 2018 IPL, 2018 Zimbabwe-Bangladesh-Sri Lanka tri-series, Zimbabwe-Afghanistan series in 2018, and the 2018 Afghanistan Premier League.
2. Dilhara Lokuhettige
Dilhara Lokuhettige is a former Sri Lankan fast bowler. The 40-year-old represented the island nation in nine ODI matches and two T20I matches. Interestingly, he made his ODI debut against India and also played his last ODI game versus the Men in Blue in 2013.
The right-arm medium-fast bowler picked up the wickets of MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh on his ODI debut. However, he could not make it big. Lokuhettige received an 8-year ban in April 2021 because of his involvement in match-fixing related to a T20 tournament that happened in the UAE in 2017.
3. One of the top cricketers to have played for the UAE cricket team - Shaiman Anwar
Shaiman Anwar became a popular name in cricketing circles during the 2015 World Cup. He was one of the best performers for the United Arab Emirates in the competition.
However, the Sialkot-born player received an 8-year ban in 2021 because of his attempt to fix matches. As per reports, Anwar tried to fix games of the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019.
4. Mohammad Naveed
Another player from the United Arab Emirates team to appear on this list is Mohammad Naveed. He is a bowling all-rounder who has played 39 ODIs and 31 T20Is.
Like Shaiman Anwar, Naveed attempted to fix matches during the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019. As a result, both Anwar and Naveed received bans on the same day.
5. Nuwan Zoysa
Former Deccan Chargers fast bowler Nuwan Zoysa received a six-year ban because of his attempts to fix matches. Zoysa was found guilty of trying to fix matches.
Also, the former Sri Lankan pacer did not report the corrupt approaches from bookies. Thus, he got banned for six years. These are five international cricketers ICC has banned in the year 2021 so far.