KABUL (AFP) – Afghanistan’s cricket board said on Wednesday it had banned former top-order international batter Ihsanullah Janat for five years after he admitted to “corrupt activities” in a domestic league.
Three other unidentified players were also under investigation over match-fixing, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said.
Jannat, 26, the younger brother of former Afghan skipper and selector Nawroz Mangal, was regarded as a talented player with three Tests, 16 One-day Internationals and one Twenty20 International under his belt.
“Jannat has been banned from all forms of cricketing activities for five years following breaches of the ACB and the ICC [International Cricket Council] Anti-Corruption Codes during the second edition of the Kabul Premier League 2024,” the ACB said in a statement.
“Jannat has admitted to the charges and confessed to his involvement in corrupt activities.”
The ban on Jannat takes effect immediately, the ACB said.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Jannat was representing Shamshad Eagles at the Kabul Premier League 2024, and scored 72 runs in four innings at an average of 18 and strike rate of 150. The team finished last on the six-team league table with just one win from five games.
Internationally, he has appeared in 20 games for Afghanistan across the three formats. Following his debut in an ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare in February 2017, Jannat has played 15 more times in the format, scoring 307 runs (average 21.92) and has also turned out in three Tests (110 runs at 22.00) and one T20I, where he scored a 14-ball 20. That T20I, in June 2022 against Zimbabwe in Harare, was his last appearance for his national team.