Ashfaq Ahmed became the fourth UAE player to be suspended in relation to the match-fixing scandal being investigated by the Anti Corruption Unit of the ICC, it was announced by the Emirate Cricket Board today.

The release stated “No formal charges have been laid against the player, and the Board will wait for the conclusion of proceedings before making any further comment.

“The Board fully supports the ICC and the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit in their efforts and denounces any activities of corruption.”

Ashfaq Ahmed batting during the recent T20I tour of the Netherland (Photo: KNCB / Sander Tholen)

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This comes less than a week after then-skipper Mohammad Naveed, Shaiman Anwar and Qadeer Ahmed were all provisionally suspended after being charged for a range of breaches of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code.

The release from the Emirates Cricket Board came in the midst of UAE’s resounding win over Hong Kong in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier being hosted by the Gulf nation.

During the press conference after the match, UAE captain Ahmed Raza responded to a question about the non-selection of the 34-yer old Ashfaq Ahmed by saying it had been due to “player rotation”.

UAE named in Al Jazeera in fixing investigation

The May 2018 Al Jazeera’s special on match-fixing played footage where the alleged ring leaders said they had the “UAE team in our hand (to fix matches)” who were allegedly paid around $25,000 each.

According to the report the fixer had “five (UAE) players, say three are batsmen and two are bowlers” on their roster.

Mohammad Naveed and Qadeer Ahmed are both bowlers, while Shaiman Anwar and Ashfaq Ahmed – despite both bowling part-time – are known for their batting.

Does this mean four down, one to go?