Former UAE domestic cricketer denies fixing allegations

Mehardeep Chhayakar admits he and Qadeer Ahmed were close but denies he has failed to cooperate with ICC's anti-corruption investigation

 The ICC has found no credible evidence of corruption after concluding its investigation into the 2018 documentary by Al Jazeera. Satish Kumar / The National

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 – the national team trio – 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 Jhalandar in India, but has lived in the UAE with his family since he was a child.

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

He faces six charges of breaking cricket’s anti-corruption rules, relating to both UAE’s one-day international series in Zimbabwe in 2019, as well as the Global T20 franchise 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 those 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 each acknowledge they were close. Chhayakar runs a kit manufacturing company, and says he supplied Qadeer with Adidas 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, though, refutes the claim he was part of an attempt to contrive to fix.

"All the charges the ICC 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 day-to-day basis, be it on phones, be it on chats, on field, off field. Everywhere, it takes place.”

The ICC investigation into Chhayakar at times has involved speaking to his mother to locate his whereabouts. He, though, denies he has been evasive.

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

“As long as I can remember, I have been corresponding with the ACU officers throughout emails and chats.”

Naveed and Shaiman were each banned for eight years for breaching anti-corruption rules earlier this year.

Two other former UAE players, Ashfaq Ahmed and Amir Hayat, are also awaiting judgement in their cases, after being charged with corruption.