DHAKA: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended Zimbabwe for failing to ensure there is no government interference in its running of the sport.

ICC funding has been withdrawn and the country will be barred from participating at ICC events, BBC reports.

Zimbabwe are due to take part in a T20 World Cup qualifier in October.

"We must keep our sport free from political interference," said ICC chairman Shashank Manohar.

"What has happened in Zimbabwe is a serious breach of the ICC constitution and we cannot allow it to continue unchecked."

The ICC issued the punishment after the entire Zimbabwe Cricket Board was suspended by the government sports and recreation commission last month and replaced with an interim committee.

The ICC says it will review its decision at a board meeting in October.

Zimbabwe's Test status was suspended by the ICC in June 2004 after 15 players dropped out of the squad after the then captain Heath Streak was sacked.

They played eight Test matches in 2005 after the suspension was lifted, but would then not play another Test match until 2011.

They failed to qualify for this year's Cricket World Cup in England and Wales.

In March, former Zimbabwe Cricket director Enock Ikope was given a 10-year ban from the game after being found guilty of breaching three counts of the ICC's anti-corruption code.

His suspension followed a 20-year ban for Rajan Nayer, a former Zimbabwe cricket official, for attempted match-fixing in March 2018.

Meanwhile, the Croatia Cricket Federation and the Zambia Cricket Union have also been suspended for failing to meet ICC criteria while the Moroccan Royal Cricket Federation has been expelled for continuing to remain non-compliant.

The decisions were taken at the ICC annual conference in London.

BDST: 0912 HRS, JULY 19, 2019
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