Former Zimbabwe cricket captain Brendan Taylor has been banned for three-and-a-half years after he failed to report a match-fixing approach and tested positive for cocaine.
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The International Cricket Council announced on Friday that the experienced 35-year-old had breached anti-corruption and anti-doping rules.
The ICC said Taylor admitted to four charges under the anti-corruption code, stemming from an incident in 2019 when he said he accepted $US15,000 ($A21,500) from businessmen in India, who asked him to fix international games.
Taylor claimed he took the money, but never fixed any games.
Taylor also was found guilty of an anti-doping offence after testing positive for the stimulant Benzoylecognine, which is a cocaine metabolite.
He tested positive after a one-day international against Ireland in September, the ICC said. Taylor retired from international cricket after that series.
Taylor announced that the ICC ban was coming in a personal statement on Monday, when he said he had been tricked into meeting with businessmen in India three years ago on the pretence that they wanted to discuss a "sponsorship opportunity" for him.
Taylor said he was offered cocaine at a dinner with the businessmen and they then used a secret video of him using the drug to blackmail him into becoming a match-fixer for them.
Taylor said he took the cash so he could get out of the situation, but never fixed a match.
However, he didn't report the incident to the ICC's anti-corruption unit for four months.
The 35-year-old Taylor also admitted he had a problem with cocaine and said he was going to check into a rehabilitation centre this week.
The ICC banned him for three-and-a-half years for breaching the anti-corruption code and one month for the doping offence, which will run concurrently.
Australian Associated Press
