Today marks the 50th day since former national skipper and all-rounder Shakib al Hasan received suspension from Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) from all type of cricket for six months along with the denial of ‘No Objection Certificate’ till December 31, 2015. Interestingly, today is also the day when BCB’s much awaited board meeting takes place to make a decision regarding Shakib’s appeal for a review of his suspension period.
As a matter of fact, today’s board meeting carries much more significance as apart from the Shakib issue, some other major issues including the staging of the third Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) are expected to top the agenda in the meeting and thus allowing it to be labelled as one of the most important meetings in the recent past.
The acting CEO of BCB Nizamuddin Chowdhury echoed the same yesterday when he confirmed, “We have a board meeting tomorrow (today) and we will discuss Shakib’s appeal for a review of his suspension. We also have some financial issues to be discussed at the meeting and there will be discussion regarding the next edition of BPL.”
Shakib was slapped with the punishment following the board meeting on July 7 for his serious misbehaviour with Bangladesh cricket coach Chandika Hathurusingha, and for his clash with a spectator during the recent first ODI against India in Mirpur.
However, BCB also took his previous records under consideration before handing out such a severe punishment to the 27-year-old. Prior to this, Shakib had served a three-match ban after he made an indecent gesture during the second ODI against Sri Lanka earlier this year. The fact that the gesture was telecast live on television to millions of viewers at home and abroad gave it a status of a serious offense which had to be taken care of with an iron hand.
However, Shakib made a public apology and appealed formally to BCB president Nazmul Hasan on July 20 to review his suspension order. BCB president then informed the media that the decision over the suspension of Shakib will be made after Eid-ul-Fitr.
Meanwhile, it has been learned that there will be discussions regarding the players’ payment along with fixation of rules and regulations for BPL-3 after the second edition of the tournament was overshadowed by match fixing allegations which ultimately led to investigations followed by trials and verdicts.
