The Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman Shafiqullah Shafaq has been given a six-year ban after he accepted four charges of breaching their anti-corruption code. The charges relate to offences during the first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League T20 in 2018 when Shafaq played for the Nangarhar Leopards, and the 2019 Bangladesh Premier League when he represented Sylhet Thunder. The 30-year-old, who made his Afghanistan debut in 2009 and has played 24 one-day internationals and 46 Twenty20 internationals, will be banned from all forms of cricket. “This is a very serious offence where a senior national player is involved in the corruption of a high-profile domestic game,” said Sayed Anwar Shah Quraishi, the Afghanistan Cricket Board’s senior anti-corruption manager. “The player had also attempted, but failed, to get one of his teammates to engage in corruption in another high-profile game during the BPL 2019. It’s an alert for all those players who think their illegal activities concerning the game of cricket will not be disclosed to the ACB’s anti-corruption unit.” Quraishi said Shafaq’s admission of guilt and cooperation had helped him avoid a longer ban. Shafaq will be involved with the ACB’s integrity education programmes to help younger players.