Spot-fixing related activities in Bangladesh Premier League
“I talked to members of the ICC’s (International Cricket Council) Anti Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) and they said that they found nothing wrong.” This was the statement made on February 4 by the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL)’s governing council member secretary IH Mallick. It was in response the suspicions of “match-fixing” over the BPL game between Dhaka Gladiators and Chittagong Kings.
Three months on, the issue has reared its head again as ACSU officials were recently in the country to continue their investigation into that game and a few others in the last edition of the BPL. And whispers suggest that at least one high-profile name is among a number of cricketers against whom fingers have been raised.
The ACSU officials interrogate high-profile local and overseas players including Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Ashraful, with the latter apparently raising the most concerns as captain of the Dhaka Gladiators team in some suspicious games. ACSU officials may submit their findings to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) very soon.
It seems that the ACSU’s move has happened quietly with only a few BCB high-ups in the know about wrong-doings during the BPL. But the investigation threatens to lift the lid on what may become an altogether ugly incident for Bangladesh cricket. One BCB official, on condition of anonymity, said: “The signs are not good, we may have to pay a big price.”
When asked, IH Mallick said: “We are not in a position to make any comment regarding the issue because the investigation is ongoing.”
“Until or unless we get anything from the ICC, we can’t act upon on this issue,” said BCB’s CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury, who however confirmed that the ACSU officials have visited the country on a few occasions in the last few months.
BPL’s governing council chairman Afzalur Rahman Sinha also claimed that he was not aware about the inquiry. “The nature of this inquiry is that they keep everything secret. You know we spent huge amounts of money to designate anti-corruption personnel of ICC to take care of everything because our board president (Nazmul Hassan Papon) wanted to make sure that there was nothing wrong. Right at this moment we can’t say anything on an investigating matter but one thing is clear that we will take tough action if anybody is found guilty.”
The whispers of suspected foul play in the last BPL had been in every nook and corner and the manner in which Gladiators lost the last match of the Chittagong leg against Kings on February 2 had only served to deepen the suspicions. Gladiators skipper Mashrafe had added more fuel to the flame dismissing the team management’s claim that he was unfit to play the match and Shakib was absent due to injury. Ashraful led the team in that match and his performance also raised many eyebrows. “They (ACSU) questioned me and accordingly I co-operated with them. I answered their questions,” said Ashraful when he was asked about ACSU’s recent interrogation.
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