Mohammad Ashraful, Lou Vincent handed in lengthy bans for roles in match-fixing scandal

Former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful and ex-New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent have been handed in lengthy bans from all formats of cricket on Wednesday for their roles in a Twenty20 match-fixing scandal.

Ashraful was banned for eight years and ordered to pay a fine of one million taka by the special tribunal that was set up to investigate claims of corruption in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) after the former skipper admitted match-fixing.

According to Sport24, Vincent received a three year ban for failing to report approaches to match-fixing, while a third former international, Sri Lanka's Kaushal Lokuarachchi, received an 18-month ban for the same offence.

Shihab Jishan Chowdhury, who is the owner of BPL's reigning champions Dhaka Gladiators, which employed Ashraful, has been banned for 10 years and fined two million takas for being party to an effort to fix a match.

Shakil Kasem, one of the three-member tribunal which handed down the sentences, said the bans would be effective worldwide, adding that the charges against the four were brought in accordance with the International Cricket Council (ICC)'s anti-corruption code.

Kasem said as a result, during the ban period, they would be barred from playing and all sorts of cricketing activities anywhere in the world.