ICC suspends Devon Thomas for alleged match-fixing in LPL

Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday suspended West Indies batter Devon Thomas for allegedly "contriving" to fix games in the 2021 Lanka Premier League (LPL) besides indulging in corrupt practices in two other franchise tournaments in the same year.

Thomas, who last played for the West Indies in August, 2022, has been charged with seven counts under the ICC's anti-corruption code. He was also named in the upcoming One-Day International (ODI) series against the UAE in Dubai.

Besides the match-fixing allegation, the governing body also charged the 33-year-old for failing to report corrupt approaches in the Abu Dhabi T10 and Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in 2021. Thomas has 14 days to respond to the serious charges.

The most damning charge relates to "contriving or being party to an agreement to fix or attempt to fix, contrive or influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspects of matches in the LPL 2021".

"The ICC, on behalf of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) and the CPL, has charged  Devon Thomas with seven counts under their anti-corruption codes and he has been provisionally suspended with immediate effect," said the global governing body in a statement.

The ICC, in a release, also claimed that Thomas did not cooperate with the anti-corruption officials during the investigation. A top-order batter, who also keeps in white-ball cricket, Thomas has represented the West Indies in one Test, 21 ODIs and 12 T20s.

His only Test appearance came against Australia in December last year and remains an active first-class cricketer.

He has also been charged for "failing to disclose to the Designated Anti-Corruption Official (without unnecessary delay) the receipt of any gift, payment, hospitality or benefit (a) that he knew or should have known was made in order to procure a breach of the CPL Code, or (b) could have brought the player or the game of cricket into disrepute".