The match fixing scandal from the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2013 season saw another twist as the ICC and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) jointly held a press conference yesterday at a hotel, where the CEO of ICC revealed that there are a total of nine individuals accused of being involved in fixing.
However, the names of the accused were withheld and this has created plenty of speculation in the cricketing community as to who the persons might be.
One person is Mohammed Ashraful, who earlier confessed to his involvement and was suspended by the BCB until the investigation was completed.
Ashraful met the ICC officials yesterday at the hotel and talked with them.“I have met with them as I am giving them support regarding the match fixing scandals from the very beginning and now it’s up to them to decide what punishment they are going to give,” he said.
It had been expected that the ICC would disclose the names of the accused. CEO Dave Richardson explained, “Under the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s anti corruption code unfortunately we can’t disclose the names until the whole disciplinary process is completed. As the investigation process is still going on we don’t want to disclose any names as they might not be found guilty.”
However the CEO informed that nine of them have been charged with various offenses,“Nine individuals have been charged with various offences that are alleged to have been committed under the BCB’s anti corruption code during the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League,” added Richardson.
Among the names that are speculated to be on the list are a few current and some national team discards. Anamul Hoque, who played for the Dhaka Gladiators, is being said to be on the list.
Others being talked about are fast bowler Mahbubul Alam Robin and left arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain Rubel who played for Dhaka Gladiators and the wicket keeper batsman of Khulna Royal Bengals Mithun Ali.
There are also some former national cricketers such as Mohammed Rafique and Sanwar Hossain, who were also part of the support staff of the Dhaka Gladiators team. Shihab Chowdhury, the managing director of the Gladiators is likely on the list and the owner of the franchise, Selim Chowdhury confirmed that he had received a letter from the ICC about his involvement.
“Yes I have received a letter from the ICC today (yesterday) but I don’t think the ICC has any right to issue any charges against us as the other match fixing scandals earlier happened in other countries. The related boards can take the decision, but not the ICC,” argued Selim. He added that he was innocent of any wrong doing and if needed, would take legal action to prove it.
Richardson did not answer the question of whether there were any foreign names on the list.“At the moment I can’t say as it’s not in the code and I don’t want to add any more speculations,” said Richardson.
However, it was heard that the coach of Dhaka Gladiators, Ian Pont, was also involved and received the letter from the ICC and another foreigner, Darren Stevens,is possibly on the list.
BCB president Nazmul Hasan said that a tribunal would be formed in the next two or three days and it is likely that speculation as to who is under investigation will continue until the board finally chooses to reveal what they know.
