The operation of the three-member tribunal, formed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to conduct the hearing of the fixing allegation brought by the ICC (International Cricket Council) from the second edition of the Bangladesh Premier League, ended yesterday.
Though the evidentiary part of the proceeding concluded on Wednesday the tribunal gave further directions on written closing submission and for oral submission of the parties. Oral submissions will be made before the tribunal on February 22, after which the tribunal will deliberate and determine the issues of guilt or otherwise of the contesting defendants.
The tribunal started its hearing on January 19 and they mainly dealt with the preliminary objections raised by some of the defendants. After hearing the preliminary objections the tribunal decided to proceed with the hearing on the merits against all the defendants who contested charges.
After closing of the prosecution case, some of the defendants gave evidences before the tribunal which were cross examined by the counsels of relevant parties as appropriate. The tribunal also considered documentary evidences and viewed video recordings of the relevant matches and audio recordings of some of the interviews.
The tribunal's verdicts into alleged match-fixing and spot-fixing will be out on February 26 and 27 and the BCB is likely to announce it. Sanctions will be announced according to article 6 of the BCB's anti-corruption code.
The investigation into the allegations of fixing first came to light in May 2013 when it was revealed by the media that a Bangladesh player had been questioned by the ICC. Former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful was the first to admit of his involvement in corruption in June last year. This was followed by formal charges against nine individuals in August 2013 by the ICC, including six Dhaka Gladiators' players. In spite of the confession, the ICC did not charge Ashraful and the player had said he expected leniency for his admission.