United Arab Emirates-based coach Irfan Ansari was suspended following allegations from Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed that he was approached to participate in a spot-fixing scheme, cricket's administrative body said on Thursday.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) said Ansari was charged with three counts of breaching the body's anti-corruption code.

“Ansari has been provisionally suspended with immediate effect and has been charged for directly soliciting, inducing, enticing or encouraging a participant to breach the code and for failure or refusal to cooperate with the anti-corruption unit's investigation,” said an ICC release.

Ansari, who is originally from Karachi, has coached a number of small professional clubs in the UAE for years.

The ICC said the suspension comes after Ansari failed to provide requested information to ICC's anti-corruption wing on two separate occasions.

The charges centre on Sarfraz's admission to the Pakistan Cricket Board and the ICC that Ansari had approached him about spot-fixing during the one-day series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the UAE last October.

Spot-fixing involves determining the outcome of a specific part of a match rather than the overall result, and is therefore harder to detect than match-fixing.

Ansari will now have two weeks to respond to the charges.

“The ICC will not make any further comment in respect of these charges at this stage,” said the body in its statement.

The PCB took extra measures to stem spot-fixing, with all six teams in this year Pakistan Super League monitored by anti-corruption officers.

Pakistan has a history of fixing cases, the latest being last year's scandal which rocked the PSL held in UAE.

A spot-fixing case during Pakistan's tour of England in 2010 ended in five-year bans on then Test captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.

Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria is also serving a life ban on charges of spot-fixing during a county match in England in 2009.

Opinion

Editorial

Kurram atrocity
Updated 22 Nov, 2024

Kurram atrocity

It would be a monumental mistake for the state to continue ignoring the violence in Kurram.
Persistent grip
22 Nov, 2024

Persistent grip

An audit of polio funds at federal and provincial levels is sorely needed, with obstacles hindering eradication efforts targeted.
Green transport
22 Nov, 2024

Green transport

THE government has taken a commendable step by announcing a New Energy Vehicle policy aiming to ensure that by 2030,...
Military option
Updated 21 Nov, 2024

Military option

While restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important.
HIV/AIDS disaster
21 Nov, 2024

HIV/AIDS disaster

A TORTUROUS sense of déjà vu is attached to the latest health fiasco at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital. The largest...
Dubious pardon
21 Nov, 2024

Dubious pardon

IT is disturbing how a crime as grave as custodial death has culminated in an out-of-court ‘settlement’. The...