ICC bans Deepak Agarwal from all cricket for 2 years

Shaji Ul Mulk, the founder and chairman of the Abu Dhabi T10 League, has clarified that Agarwal was removed before the start of the 2018 edition

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned Deepak Agarwal from all cricket for two years, with six months of that suspended, after he accepted one charge of breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code, the ICC said in a release.
Agarwal's name was flashed in news last year when he was named as a suspect by ICC while banning Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan for failing to report approaches by him.
"Al Hasan was interviewed by the ACU (anti-corruption unit) in Bangladesh on 23 January 2019 and 27 August 2019 in relation to an ongoing investigation into potential corrupt conduct under the code, including but not limited to the activities of an individual known to the ACU and suspected of involvement in corruption in cricket, Deepak Aggarwal," the ICC had then said. In 2018, Agarwal was proposed as a co-owner for Team Sindhis in the second season of the T10 League, which was played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
However, Shaji Ul Mulk, the founder and chairman of the Abu Dhabi T10 League, has clarified that he wasn't approved as a co-owner by the ICC and was therefore removed before the start of the 2018 edition. "We wish to clarify that Deepak Agarwal was initially proposed as one of the owners for Team Sindhis for the 2018 season. As part of our SOP and our close cooperation with ICC, we always seek the clearance of all team owners from the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit," Ul Mulk said in a statement to Khaleej Times on Wednesday. Ul Mulk also reiterated that the ban on Agarwal had no connection to any activity related to the League.
"The clearance from ICC was not granted and we promptly took action to remove Deepak Agarwal from the ownership of the team before the start of the league. We also wish to clarify that the ban imposed by ICC on Deepak Agarwal has nothing to do with any activity related to the T10 cricket league," he said.
"We at T Ten Sports Management have a zero-tolerance policy towards any individuals who breach the code of conduct and we continue to work closely with the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit to uphold the integrity of the game of cricket," added Ul Mulk.
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