The Former Zimbabwe captain is due to face a “multi-year” ban from all cricket by the International Cricket Council after failing to report a corrupt approach on time, the cricketer himself revealed.
Brendan Taylor shocked the cricketing world on January 24 with a statement carrying his detailed narrative of an incident dating back October 2019.
The Zimbabwean batting great opened up on being caught in a trap by corrupters, including an “Indian businessman”, who initially met him to discuss the potential launch of a T20 league in Zimbabwe.
While he was hesitant at the start, Taylor took the flight to meet these men, who offered him USD 15,000 to take part in the competition they were about to launch.
He confirmed that during his last night at the hotel, he had drinks with the Indian businessman and his colleagues, who also engaged in cocaine and offered him to do so.
The 35-year-old, who denied it initially, said “I foolishly took the bait” later on. This led to a whole dramatic turn of events, as the next morning, those men stormed into his room and showed him a video where they had caught him inhaling the drug without his knowledge.
This was used for blackmailing him into doing “spot-fixing” for them, something Taylor clarified in his statement he never did. Taylor said the USD 15,000 he received from the undisclosed Indian businessman now acted as a “deposit” that the man wanted a return on.
He also told the Zimbabwean that he will be paid a further USD 20,000 on completing the “job”.
The cocaine that Taylor had indulged in that day messed up with his brain, as it got him and robbed him of the clarity he needed at that stage. Fearing for his life in case he denied the approach, he took the money and went back to India and spent the next four months dealing with the anxiety and drug habit.
The player said it took him four months before he could gather the courage to speak to the ICC. The player said he had hoped the ICC would understand the delay, for his and his family’s livelihood were at stake.
But he confirmed that the governing body has decided to act, something he was aware that they would do, having attended several ICC anti-corruption seminars before. The retired batter also informed that he is entering a rehabilitation centre for drug habit.
The ICC will now be imposing a multi-year ban on Taylor from any association with cricket. Taylor retired from international cricket back in September 2021.
