Former West Indies ODI captain Marlon Samuels has been banned from cricket for six years for breaching an anti-corruption code, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Thursday.
The all-rounder was found guilty of violating the ICC Anti-Corruption Code on four counts while taking part in a restricted competition in the United Arab Emirates.
The charge against Samuels, who has not played for West Indies since 2018, relates to the T10 League in Abu Dhabi, the ICC said when the charges were first announced in 2021. Samuels was found guilty by the ICC’s integrity unit in August found.
Samuels was found guilty of failing to disclose “receipt of gifts, payments, entertainment or other advantages” likely to bring him into disrepute, as well as receipt of entertainment valued at $750 (£600) or more.
The ICC also said Samuels failed to cooperate with an anti-corruption official and concealed information that may have been relevant to the investigation.
“Samuels played international cricket for almost two decades, attending numerous anti-corruption meetings and was fully aware of his obligations under anti-corruption codes,” ICC head of integrity Alex Marshall said in a statement the sanction.
“Although he is now retired, Mr Samuels was involved in the commission of the offenses. The six-year ban will be a strong deterrent to any participant who intends to break the rules.”
In 2008, Samuels was banned for two years by the ICC after he was caught on tape leaking match-related information to an Indian bookmaker during the West Indies’ ODI series in India the previous year.
He made a strong comeback in 2011 and continued to play Test cricket until 2016 and limited-overs internationals for another two years. Samuels made his Test and ODI debut for West Indies in 2000 at the age of 19.
He played 71 Tests, 207 ODIs and 67 Twenty20 Internationals and scored more than 11,000 runs in international cricket. His highlight was a 56-ball 78 in the World T20 final against Sri Lanka in 2012, which helped the West Indies win the title.
