ICC's anti-corruption, security unit chief resigns

The chief investigator of the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption and security unit, Ravi Sawani, has resigned as the game confronts its most serious integrity issue in a decade.

With Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi suspended amid corruption allegations, and with a disputed report from Indian income tax department reportedly implicating 27 players in spot-fixing at last year's IPL, cricket faces its greatest tests on match-fixing charges.

Sawani handed his resignation letter to his employers. His move comes as Paul Condon, the ACSU's long-serving chairman, prepares to retire in June, leaving a leadership vacuum in the unit.

Condon's replacement is expected to be named within a month, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Sawani's resignation is not linked to the scandal engulfing Modi and the IPL, but rather a disagreement with ICC brass.

Security officials fear there has been a dramatic rise in spot-fixing, engineering outcomes within matches, since the advent of Twenty20.

Illegal bookmakers, whose activities were slashed after the formation of the ACSU in 2000, have been emboldened by their advances into Twenty20 and have been seen in increasing numbers around team hotels and functions.

The report about involvement of a famous Australian cricketer who allegedly helped fix Indian Premier League matches played in South Africa last year has been denied by the Indian tax authorities.

Indian tax officials have denied issuing a report naming 27 cricketers, including a "famous Australian", for spot fixing during last year's IPL.