BCB chief claims to have no prior knowledge of ICC investigation on Shakib
The suspension sentence - twelve months of the ban, will come into effect if Shakib fails to comply with the anti-corruption code of the ICC
Nazmul Hassan, chief of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has claimed that the board had no inkling about the International Cricket Council's (ICC) anti-corruption investigation of its Test and T20 captain, Shakib Al Hasan.
Shakib was handed a two-year ban for failing to report three approaches by a suspected Indian bookie, reports the Sports Star.
The ban was announced on Tuesday, that stated - twelve months of this ban is a suspended sentence which will come into effect if Shakib fails to comply with the anti-corruption code of the ICC.
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The BCB chief said, "I want to state something clearly and that is that neither I nor anyone from the BCB knew anything about the investigation, which has been going on from January."
Nazmul Hassan also added, "The ACU, an independent body, communicated with Shakib. He informed me two or three days ago following the meeting with the players regarding the strike."
The one-year ban that Shakib Al Hasan has to serve will keep him out of World T20 to be held in Australia from October 18 to November 15; and also next year's Indian Premier League (IPL).
Shakib Al Hasan failed to report the approaches made by suspected bookie Deepak Aggarwal, who had asked the world's No.1 ODI all-rounder to provide information on team composition and strategy on three separate occasions.
First approach was made on April 26, 2018 when his IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad was to take on Kings XI Punjab. Sunrisers won the game by 13 runs.
The bookie's other two approaches were during the Bangladesh Premier League when Shakib was playing for Dhaka Dynamites in 2017, followed by the tri-series against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka in January 2018.
BCB chief backed Shakib to come back as a better and wiser person. However, Hassan admitted that he was initially angry at the all-rounder for not reporting the approaches.
He stated, "I don't deny that I was angry at him for not reporting the issue but at the same time we are pleased that he has cooperated fully with the ICC's ACU (Anti-Corruption Unit) and has pledged his commitment to its education programme."
This disquieting development came ahead of the tour of India beginning November 3. Shakib was supposed to captain the team in three T20s and two Tests. The reins are handed over to Mahmudullah Riyad and Mominul Haque for Bangladesh's T20 and Test squads respectively owing to Tuesday's developments.
