ICC has issued a warning regarding corruption for the associates as the bookies are targeting the game’s minnows as they prepare to get the World Twenty20 under way in India on Tuesday. In a pre-tournament press conference, ICC chief executive David Richardson said it was clear that the non-Test playing nations are vulnerable to malfeasance.
"Unfortunately this is the world we are living, there are corrupt individuals all over trying their best to get hold of players. We are finding that the corrupters are now focusing on associate members, women's team etc, etc. So we are going to make sure the players from all the teams are very well educated, understand their responsibility and will not get involved", he said.
Hong Kong, who will be playing Zimbabwe in the opening match of the qualifiers have been rocked by a corruption scandal in the build-up to the T20 world championship which has already led to the suspension on their all-rounder Irfan Ahmed.
Hong Kong are one of eight teams trying to qualify for the main phase of the tournament which begins next Tuesday, alongside cricket's eight more established powers such as Australia, India.
Ronnie Flanagan, who heads the game's anti-corruption unit, said on Sunday that his investigators were looking into allegations that "members of a particular team had intentions to manipulate events in forthcoming matches", without giving further details.
I am very confident that we will have a very clean tournament: Richardson
Although Richardson also did not refer directly to Hong Kong in his press conference, he effectively confirmed that that was the team under investigation by Flanagan's unit.
"In recent times you would have read in the media about a particular player who was suspended from this country and the investigations relate to that same team," said Richardson. The chief executive said that he was hopeful that the tournament would be a clean one.
"I am very confident that we will have a very clean tournament. I know that our anti-corruption unit are working hand in hand with the law enforcement agencies, the police agencies in India to make sure that any information is shared,” he said.
Though Hong Kong did spring a surprise when they defeated Bangladesh in 2014 they are not expected to progress to the main round but their preparations have been jolted due to the suspension and unwanted media attention because of that.
Skipper Tanwir Afzal admitted that Zimbabwe are a more experienced side but appended that Hong Kong had diagnosed many fallibilities.
"We have a plan, and we work out the weakness of them. We'll see; We have a young side, it's always energetic and exciting, so they are ready to show the world how good they are and they believe in their ability,” he said.
After Zimbabwe, Hong Kong will be up against a formidable associate opponent in Afghanistan.
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