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Two players from the United Arab Emirates were banned from all forms of cricket for eight years on Thursday for violating anti-corruption code.  

Amir Hayat and Ashfaq Ahmed were banned for their corrupt conduct during the men’s qualifier in April 2019. 

The eight-year bans were backdated to September 13 2020 when the ICC provisionally suspended both cricketers. 

Ahmed has played 12 T20s and 16 one-day internationals for , while Hayat represented the gulf country in four T20s and nine ODIs. 

Over the last two years, three other cricketers - Mohammad Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed - were also banned for at least five years. 

"Their lengthy ban should serve as a warning to others"

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag)

The ICC anti-corruption tribunal found Hayat and Ashfaq guilty of five charges that include a player taking a bribe to fix a cricket match or ensuring the occurrence of a particular event for the purposes of betting on a cricket match. 

“Both Amir and Ashfaq had played cricket at the highest level for long enough to understand the threat from match fixers,” ICC general manager Alex Marshall said in a statement. 

“The two UAE players attended several ICC anti-corruption education sessions, and knew how to avoid becoming involved in any corrupt activity. … Their lengthy ban should serve as a warning to others.” 

The news follows an announcement on Tuesday that the T20 World Cup 2021 will be held in the UAE and Oman instead of because of surging Covid-19 cases in India.  

said: "The decision gives us the certainty we need to stage the event in a country that is a proven international host of multi-team events in a bio-secure environment."