West Indies batter Devon Thomas suspended for alleged fixing in LPL
Dubai, May 23: The International Cricket Council on Tuesday suspended West Indies batter Devon Thomas for allegedly ''contriving'' to fix games during the 2021 Lanka Premier League.
Thomas, who last played for the West Indies in August 2022, has been charged with seven counts under the ICC's anti-corruption code.
''The International Cricket Council (ICC), on behalf of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) and the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), has charged West Indies player Devon Thomas with seven counts under their anti-corruption codes and he has been provisionally suspended with immediate effect,'' said the global governing body in a statement. Besides the fixing allegation, the governing body also charged the 33-year-old for failing to report corrupt approaches in the Abu Dhabi T10 and Caribbean Premier League in 2021. Thomas has 14 days to respond to the serious charges.
The most damning charge relates to ''contriving or being party to an agreement to fix or attempt to fix, contrive or influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspects of matches in the Lanka Premier League 2021''.
The ICC, in a release, also claimed that Thomas did not cooperate with the anti-corruption officials during the investigation.
A top-order batter, who also keeps in white-ball cricket, Thomas has represented West Indies in one Test, 21 ODIs and 12 T20s. His only Test appearance came against Australia in December last year and remains an active first-class cricketer.
He has also been charged for ''failing to disclose to the Designated Anti-Corruption Official (without unnecessary delay) the receipt of any gift, payment, hospitality or benefit (a) that he knew or should have known was made in order to procure a breach of the CPL Code, or (b) could have brought the player or the game of cricket into disrepute''.
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Chadha, others wouldn't have left AAP had it followed 'right' path: Anna Hazare
Mumbai (PTI): Social activist Anna Hazare has said Raghav Chadha and six other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha members would not have quit the party had it followed the "right" path.
"Everyone has the right to hold an opinion in a democracy. They (Chadha and others) must have faced some trouble, which is why they left," Hazare told reporters on Friday in Ahilyanagar district of Maharashtra.
AAP Rajya Sabha members Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak addressed a joint press conference in Delhi on Friday, announcing their exit from the Arvind Kejriwal-led party to join the BJP.
Chadha claimed that nearly two-thirds of AAP's Rajya Sabha members had quit the party and would function as a separate faction.
"It is their (AAP leadership’s) fault. Had that party followed the right way, they would not have left," Hazare said.
Hazare reiterated that Chadha and others must have faced difficulties within AAP, and that is why they left. "Had the party gone in the right direction, they would not have quit the party," he added.
"There must be some or the other reason (for their leaving AAP). In a democracy, every person has a view about where to stay and leave," Hazare said.
The Chadha-led exodus marks a significant setback for the Kejriwal-led party since its formation in 2012, which followed the momentum of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement.
