Bangladesh Cricket Board CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury yesterday informed the media that the board will investigate the issue of some of its contracted players participating in an American domestic league, the Diversity Cup, without obtaining the No-Objection Certificate.
What has perhaps raised a few eyebrows is the cricketers playing alongside Mohammad Ashraful. The former captain was banned by the BCB from all forms of cricket activities after he confessed his involvement in match-fixing in the second edition of the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 two years ago. The BCB high-up said they are looking closely into the board’s rules and regulations before determining their course of action.
Discarded players Elias Sunny and Nadif Chowdhury, meritorious Under-19 all-rounder Shaker Ahmed and former cricketer Tapash Baisya are participating among others in the T20 tournament for Bangladesh Tigers XI. The event is taking place in Michigan and is scheduled to come to an end today.
Both Sunny and Nadif are contracted with the BCB as first-class cricketers while Shaker last played domestic cricket in Bangladesh in the 2013-14 season. It was confirmed by the BCB officials that Sunny and Nadif did not acquire any NOC to participate in the Michigan tournament.
The occasion is not the first when the Bangladesh cricketers were found playing alongside Ashraful, who is currently serving a five-year ban. A month ago, at least nine Bangladesh cricketers, former and current BCB directors and a few officials participated in an indoor celebrity tournament alongside Ashraful. Last May, a few cricketers participated in a media competition where Ashraful was also a participant.
Such situations have raised concerns among the stakeholders. While explaining the situation, Nizamuddin said the board will look into the matter soon because of the frequency of the incidents.
“We have to look into the board’s guidelines and then comment on it. Since it is happening frequently, we will look closely. We can talk about it after seeing what we can do, as far as preventive measures are concerned. We have to see the board’s anti-corruption rules and procedures before we can say anything about it,” said the BCB CEO.
Ashraful was slammed with an eight-year ban by Justice Khademul Islam, the convenor of the three-member probe committee of the BPL match-fixing scandal. The cricketer later appealed the decision and the BCB disciplinary committee was forgiving with their verdict, reducing the ban by three years last September.
Since then, Ashraful has participated in several tournaments, both home and abroad, alongside the Bangladesh cricketers. Ashraful’s explanation mentions that he only plays in unofficial tournaments that do not fall under the jurisdiction of the International Cricket Council.
If that is the case, then the Bangladesh cricketers are the ones who should be taken care of.
“The ban on Ashraful is within the jurisdiction of the BCB. The tournament or match you are referring to is outside our jurisdiction. Secondly, the players within our first-class contract who have participated in an unauthorised cricket event without the board’s seal of approval or without NOC, will be addressed in accordance with the board’s policy,” said Nizamuddin before adding, “It will not be right to comment over whether it is disapproved cricket or not. What we understand is that this is not official cricket. Whether this is a neighbourhood tournament, we have to find out.”
