Former UAE domestic cricketer calls fixing charges ‘baseless’ and denies he failed to help ICC investigation

A former domestic cricketer embroiled in the fixing scandal that has riven UAE cricket denies the allegations against him, saying they are “baseless”.

When three senior national team cricketers were thrown out of the sport in 2019 in a corruption purge, charges were also brought against Mehardeep Chhayakar.

He did not have the same status as Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar and Qadeer Ahmed but was described as having “participated in cricket in Ajman”.

Although he has not played international cricket for UAE, he is relatively well-known within the game in the Emirates, having grown up playing junior cricket in Sharjah.

Chhayakar is originally from Jalandhar in India, but has lived in the UAE with his family since he was a child.

When it was confirmed last month that Qadeer had been banned for five years for a string of corruption offences, supplementary charges were brought against Chhayakar.

He faces six charges of breaking anti-corruption rules, relating to both UAE’s one-day series in Zimbabwe in 2019, as well as the Global T20 tournament in Canada. They include attempting to “contrive to fix aspects” of those series, as well as “seeking to entice, induce and/or solicit a participant to get involved in an effort to fix aspects” of matches.

He is also said to have failed “to co-operate with an [anti-corruption unit] investigation, without compelling justification,” and “obstructing an ongoing ACU investigation”.

Chhayakar was a key figure in the case that saw Qadeer banned from the sport for five years. Chhayakar and Qadeer acknowledge they were close.

Chhayakar runs a company manufacturing cricket kits, and says he supplied Qadeer with bowling boots. The former fast bowler, for his part, suggested he regarded Chhayakar as his agent.

The report into the case states two individuals – one of whom is understood to have been Chhayakar – offered Qadeer “Dh60,000-70,000 to ‘do bad bowling’ in the Zimbabwe v UAE series”.

Qadeer was also found guilty of failing to report an approach to provide inside information ahead of the UAE’s series against the Netherlands later that year. Chhayakar refutes the fixing claims. “All the charges the ICC’s ACU have placed are baseless accusations,” Chhayakar told The National.

“They have taken a normal conversation by two cricketers discussing the game, and helping each other out, as passing inside information.

“It is totally false. Such conversations take place on every corner of the grounds on a dayto-day basis, be it on phones, be it on chats, on field, off field. Everywhere, it takes place.

“The allegation of passing inside information is false,” he said. “Also, to say I haven’t been responding or co-operating is totally false as well.

They have taken a normal conversation by two cricketers helping each other out as passing inside information MEHARDEEP CHAYAKAR

Former UAE cricketer