The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suspended Mumbai Ranji player Hiken Shah for making for breaching the Board's Anti-Corruption Code on Monday.
BCCI made the official announcement through a media release on their website. The board has stated that Shah cannot be a part of the game affiliated to BCCI and he will remain suspended till the disciplinary committee of BCCI passes further orders.
According to the reports submitted by the inquiry commissioner, Shah made a corrupt approach to one of the players, Pravin Tambe, who is a part of the Rajasthan Royals franchise. Immediately, he reported the matter to his franchise management and they further took the issue to the Anti-Corruption Unit of BCCI. Board president Jagmohan Dalmiya requested for an inquiry immediately.
"BCCI has zero tolerance for corruption in the game of cricket. We have and we will take swift action against such incidents to set a precedent and control the menace of corruption in the game. While placing the player under suspension, I have referred the matter to the disciplinary committee of the BCCI to take further action against the player involved," Jagmohan Dalmiya stated in the BCCI media release.
The BCCI media release stated: "After a detailed inquiry into the reported incident, the inquiry commissioner found Hiken Shah guilty of 'committing breach of Articles 2.1.1; 2.1.2; and 2.1.4 of the BCCI Anti-Corruption Code for participants and recommended their provisions to the BCCI President."
The 30-year-old batsman has played 37 first class games for Mumbai and has managed to score 2,160 runs at an average of 42.35.
"This particular incident demonstrates that BCCI's education policy against corruption is showing results, as the player approached was vigilant enough to report the matter to the ACU of the BCCI. Having said that, the fight against corruption is an ongoing battle and we will not leave any stone unturned. BCCI is committed to keep cricket corruption-free," BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said in the press release.
