Former Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor says he was blackmailed into fixing matches in India

Brendan Taylor, former Zimbabwe cricket captain, was on Friday banned for three and a half years by the ICC for failing to report a 2019 spot-fixing approach by an Indian businessman on time and was also handed a one month suspension for failing a dope test which was linked to his intake of cocaine during the episode

Making the shocking revelations via social media, Taylor said he has been "carrying a burden for over 2 years".

In October 2019, Brendan Taylor said he visited India on a businessman's invitation to discuss sponsorship for an upcoming T20 competition in Zimbabwe.

However, Taylor says 'they played me' and that he took cocaine at the businessman's invitation. He was then blackmailed into accepting money to do spot fixing in Zimbabwe's international matches.

Taylor said, "We had drinks and during the course of the evening they openly offered me cocaine, which they themselves engaged in, and | foolishly took the bait. I've gone over it a million times since and still feel sick to my stomach reliving that night and how they played me.

"The following morning, the same men stormed into my hotel room and showed me a video taken of me the night before doing cocaine and told me that if I did not spot fix at international matches for them, the video would be released to the public. I was cornered. And with 6 of these individuals in my hotel room, | was scared for my own safety. I'd fallen for it."

Taylor said it took him four months to report the incident to ICC and that the governing body is set to announce a multi-year ban on him soon.

With 6684 runs in ODI, 2320 runs in Test and 859 runs in T20I, Taylor was one of the best cricketers to have emerged from Zimbabwe in recent years. He had been appointed Zimbabwe's captain after the 2011 World Cup and he had led by example in the 2015 edition.