West Indies Cricketer Marlon Samuels Banned By ICC For Breach Of Anti-Corruption Code

Former West Indies cricketer Marlon Samuels has been slapped with a six-year ban by International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday. In September 2021, Samuel faced four charges brought forth by the ICC in their role as the Designated Anti-Corruption Official under the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) Code. Subsequently, Samuel was convicted of these offenses in August of this year. The ban of six years was confirmed by the ICC on Thursday and will commence from November 11 2023, read an ICC release.

Samuels was found guilty of four charges, as follows:

Article 2.4.2 (by a majority decision) – Failing to disclose any gift, payment, hospitality, or benefit received that could tarnish the Participant or cricket.

Article 2.4.3 (unanimous decision) – Not revealing hospitality valued at US $750 or more to the designated Anti-Corruption Official.

Article 2.4.6 (unanimous decision) – Refusing to cooperate with the investigation conducted by the designated Anti-Corruption Official.

Article 2.4.7 (unanimous decision) – Impeding or delaying the designated Anti-Corruption Official's investigation by withholding relevant information.

The ban was announced by Alex Marshall, who heads up the ICC HR and Integrity Unit. He said, "Samuels played international cricket for close to two decades, during which he participated in numerous anti-corruption sessions and knew exactly what his obligations were under the Anti-Corruption Codes."

Marshall says that although Samuels is retired now, but it was important for ICC to set an example and ban him for six years which will act as a strong deterrent to any participant who intends to break the rules.

Not to forget, Samuels is a two-time World Cup winner. He won the T20 World Cups with West Indies in 2012 and 2016 respectively. He played more than 300 international matches across formats for the Men in Maroon. He played 71 Tests, 207 ODIs and 67 T20Is for West Indies. Samuels scored a total of 11,314 runs in international cricket (3917 in Tests, 5605 in ODIs and 1611 runs in T20Is). In first-class cricket, Samuels played 122 matches, scoring 7295 runs. Not to forget his 7652 runs in LIST  cricket. In all T20s, Samuels made 4571 runs.

Samuels could have been remembered by the generations to come as a legendary cricketer. But he ban is a stain he will fail to wash for the rest of his life. Samuels is quite a controversial figure, known for his anger. He had once taken a fight on the field with Shane Warne during Big Bash League.