Five international captains approached by spot-fixers in past year, ICC say

According to Alex Marshall, the the general manager of the Anti-Corruption Unit, a quintet of skippers have been targeted over recent months in an effort to rig certain elements of matches

^{Anti-Corruption Unit general manager Alex Marshall, left, at an ICC media day}

Five international captains have been approached by spot-fixers in the past year, the ICC's most senior anti-corruption official has claimed.

According to Alex Marshall, the the general manager of the Anti-Corruption Unit, a quintet of skippers have been targeted over recent months in an effort to rig certain elements of matches.

And the ACU boss pointed out that the boom in T20 leagues around the world has given more options for illegal activity.

“Corruptors love captains. They look for intermediaries. They look for weak links. Five international captains — four Full Members, one non-Full Member — were approached in the last one year. The corruptors like T20s. They like the explosion of T20 tournaments,” Marshall said at an ICC media day in Dubai.

Marshall would not give the identity of the five players targeted but the ICC did confirm that Afghanistan's wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad had been approached during the ongoing Asia Cup and asked to underperform during the imminent Afghanistan Premier League.

^{Afghanistan's Mohammad Shahzad was reportedly approached by spot-fixers during the Asia Cup}

"My point wasn’t that T20s attract corruptors, but the explosion of T20 events, including some private events — and I mention some events are designed for the whole purpose of corruption — has presented a new option to corruptors," Marshall said.

"T20 is an exciting format and I said in my presentation that the expansion of T20 cricket is bringing in more countries, more players, more fans; and it’s a brilliant development. As I said earlier, responsibility also sits with the people who organise T20 events to ensure all anti-corruption measures are in place."

Over the past year, the ICC have conducted 32 anti-corruption investigations.

"We never launch an investigation because something looks odd on the field or we get a single, anonymous report," Marshall said. "We get quite a lot of single, anonymous reports.

"We start putting the pieces together and if there's sufficient reason to think on reasonable grounds to start investigating this, then we take it on."

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