Bangladesh Test and T20 captain Shakib al Hasan was issued a two-year ban by the International Cricket Council on Tuesday for failing to report corrupt approaches on numerous occasions. The ban has compunded the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) troubles ahead of the India tour from November 3.
“I am extremely sad to have been banned from the game I love, but I completely accept my sanction for not reporting the approaches. ICC ACU is reliant on players to play a central part in fight against corruption and I didn’t do my duty in this instance,” the Bangaldesh all-rounder said after the ICC announcement.
Twelve months of that ban is a suspended sentence which will come into effect if Shakib fails to comply with the anti-corruption code of the world body.
Reports that Shakib was under the ICC scanner emerged when a leading Bengali daily ‘Samakal’ reported on Tuesday that the cricket board had asked Bangladesh to keep Shakib away from practice. The report stated that two years ago Shakib, the world’s no. 1 ODI all-rounder, had been approached by a bookie before an international match, but the player did not report the incident to ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU). The newspaper also said that the Shakib had confessed during ACSU’s investigation.
The Bangladesh squad will leave for India on Wednesday. They will play three T20Is and two Test matches. In Shakib’s absence, the captaincy is likely to fall on the shoulders of the senior-most player Mushfiqur Rahim.
Shakib recently spearheaded a players’ strike before calling it off after the BCB assured that their demands, including a pay hike, will be fulfilled.