Qadeer Ahmed returns to UAE domestic cricket after five-year ban for corruption expires

Former national team fast bowler, who made a low-key comeback in Ajman, says he wants other players to learn from his mistakes

Former UAE pacer Qadeer Ahmed to the domestic set-up after completing his five-year ban for corruption. Pawan Singh / The National

Qadeer Ahmed, the former UAE fast bowler, says he wants to help in the fight against corruption in cricket, after returning to play for the first time in five years.

The Pakistan-born bowler turns 39 next week. He was suspended from involvement in any form of cricket by the International Cricket Council for a variety of breaches of the sport’s anti-corruption code in 2019.

That included planning to fix aspects of international matches, as well as inducing a teammate to attempt to do the same.

He was one of six players from the national team who were banned as part of ICC anti-corruption investigations at that time, and is the first to return to playing.

Qadeer's ban expired at midnight on October 15, entitling him to return to train and play. His first match back was a low-key, 25-over match in Ajman late on Tuesday night.

He managed three overs with the new ball, took one wicket, plus two excellent catches, and was satisfied with how things went – although he says performances on the field are secondary to his mission in cricket now.

As part of his return to playing, Qadeer was obliged to give talks to domestic cricketers about his experiences, and the impact corruption has had on his life.

He wants his message to be heeded far and wide so that people avoid the mistakes that deprived him of a large slice of his career.

“You are shining in the sky as a star, then suddenly you fall,” Qadeer told The National. “It is really difficult in all aspects of life. I told them again and again, please, don’t do this [consider fixing matches].

“If anyone asks you to do this, from your family circle, from your friendship circle, then they are not your friends. Don’t count on them. Anything you are told, just report it [to the anti-corruption authorities].

“I told them that what happened to me can happen to them also. I want them to play fair cricket. Nowadays there is too much live cricket, and all these elements come into play when it is live.

“I don’t want any cricketer anywhere in the world to be involved in these things, but sometimes as a cricketer it is very difficult. These guys will come as strangers and try to become your friends, but you have to report everything.”

Tournaments which are livestreamed are mushrooming around the world and that has brought with it significant challenges for those trying to rid the sport of corruption.

Matches that are shown live bring with them the opportunity for in-play betting, particularly in the huge illegal gambling markets of the subcontinent. They are susceptible to corruption as players can be approached to fix aspects of the game to suit gamblers or bookmakers.

While Qadeer’s match was going on at the Royal Cricket Ground in Ajman, some of the UAE’s brightest young prospects were in action over the fence on the neighbouring field.

On the best appointed of the eight grounds that share a site in Ajman, a top-tier domestic tournament was taking place under the glare of high-lux floodlights. A multi-camera production team streamed the match live online, as well as to the big screen beside the field.

Qadeer is aware players can be prey to corruptors. He was first induced into the actions which ultimately led to his ban when he was befriended at a cricket match in Ajman by someone who said he could get him a deal on bowling shoes.

The relationship developed and reached the point where Qadeer was being encouraged to underperform in matches with the promise of cash.

When his activities came to light, he was banned from the sport by an independent tribunal. He lost his livelihood and his home in the UAE. He returned to Pakistan, and struggled for work, as well as to pay medical bills for his young family.

He opted to return to Dubai and found a job administering a fleet of motorbike drivers for a food delivery company. All the while, he was hopeful he could one day play just one more match of cricket.

Eventually that came, more than five years since he last played, in the form of a B-Division match for Al Basira Tigers against Jazba Cricket Club.

His comeback match had already been called off once as the ground had been double booked. And, early on Tuesday, he received a message saying it was postponed again due to a municipality ruling closing all the grounds for the day. That proved to be false. Then the start was delayed as the floodlights failed to switch on.

Qadeer said he only knew three of his new teammates, and the rest did not know “I had a bitter past”.

He did, though, face some of his former teammates from the UAE national team when he gave his anti-corruption talk ahead of an ILT20 Development Tournament match last month.

He is grateful that they were broadly welcoming, but he says that addressing them was a harrowing experience.

“When you listen to those lectures [given by the ICC to educate players on anti-corruption], you think, ‘Well, I’m not doing anything wrong, I’m not taking money, I’m OK’,” Qadeer said.

“It was our mistake not to take an interest in that. But if they deliver a lecture, that is different [to me doing it]. I am one of them. I speak in their language, and tell them how it happens.

“It is not a nice thing having to face your teammates and tell them you were on the wrong side of the picture, and that you made mistakes. It is not the ideal place to be, and it is difficult to lecture them. But hopefully it is good for them. I am an example for them.

“If you have any minor offer, especially from friends, you have to report it. I told them my story, and that they have to be very careful and very aware, especially from your so called friends – because they are not friends.

“Mine is an important story for them to learn. I told them how I survived the five years, what difficulties I faced financially, and told them in detail. I want them to avoid this.”

Beyond the boundary of Qadeer's game, Imran Tahir, the former South Africa bowler and IPL star, was practising in the nets, inspiring another generation who were rapt by the advice he was giving on leg spin.

Qadeer’s own future might be behind him. But he is glad he has been given the chance to play at all, having asked a friend if he could join his team.

“I just wanted to see if I could survive in domestic cricket or not,” Qadeer said of his return to playing.

“I was not nervous but excited. I hadn’t trained or played for five years, so I was a bit worried about my stamina and fitness but, overall, I am very excited to come back to hardball cricket.

“Five years is a long period. I didn’t do any nets or practice, I just came straight here and they asked me to bowl the second over. I didn’t have any idea whether it would be an inswinger or an outswinger, I just felt confused.

“I missed my length because I also don’t have my own spikes. I had to borrow from someone. I wasn’t able to maintain my length, but, overall, it was good. Only three wides.”

He is grateful to his friend who invited him along to play for Al Basira. The team have already won three of their matches in the competition and qualified for the semi-finals, giving them an opportunity to take a chance on Ahmed.

“Maybe he understands how hungry a cricketer can be after five years out,” Qadeer said.

“It is not the ideal tournament, but it is good for me that I can come here and test myself. Six or seven of my friends have come along to cheer me and back me up.

“I only ever wanted to play one more match, but I feel like I can survive if I can go to training and the gym, and improve my fitness. If I got the rhythm back, I think I could play at that [A Division] level. Let’s see how it goes.”