Former NZ skipper Brendan Taylor admits to taking drugs, bribe from Indian bookmakers

HARARE – Former skipper of Zimbabwe cricket team Brendan Taylor on Monday exposed a blackmail plot by an Indian businessmen who allegedly filmed him taking drugs in order to force him into matching fixing at a later stage.

The 35-year-old admitted that he was blackmailed into spot-fixing by a group of Indian bookmakers he met in 2019. He is now staring down the barrel of the ban on his career by the ICC.

In his detailed statement on Twitter, Taylor said an Indian businessman asked him to visit the South Asian country before organising a T20 event in Zimbabwe.

The distressed cricketer went on to say that the Indian businessman took clips of him taking cocaine and later blackmailed him into spot-fixing in international matches. However, he said he ‘refused’ to engage in any kind of match fixing and reported the matter to the world governing body after some time.

To my family, friends and supporters. Here is my full statement. Thank you! pic.twitter.com/sVCckD4PMV

— Brendan Taylor (@BrendanTaylor86) January 24, 2022

The Indian man who invited him then stormed his hotel room the next day and showed him videos in which he can be seen taking drugs. Taylor however confessed to taking 'too long' to report the incident to ICC officials.

Sharing his side of the story, he said, “I have never been involved in any form of ‘match-fixing’. I may be many things but I am not a cheat. My love for the gentleman’s game far outweighs and surpasses any threats which could be thrown my way."

“I have been carrying a burden for over two years now that has sadly taken me to some very dark places and had a profound effect on my mental health,” he added.

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Meanwhile, ICC told an international news outlet that an investigation is ongoing after Taylor’s statement. Sanctions on Taylor are yet to be announced by the top cricket governing body. 

Taylor played 35 Tests, 205 one-day internationals and 45 Twenty20s. He also played county cricket for Nottinghamshire. The wicketkeeper-batsman announced his retirement from international cricket earlier in September last year.