Bangladesh captain Shakib banned for two years

DUBAI: Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan was banned from all cricket for two years with one year of that suspended on Tuesday, after the all-rounder was found to have breached the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption code.

The ICC said Shakib, the national side’s captain in all formats and one of the highest run-scorers at the 2019 Cricket World Cup, had accepted three charges related to failing to report “approaches he received to engage in corrupt conduct.”

The 32-year-old was found to have failed to report two approaches he received during a tri-series between Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in January 2018, and one related to a 2018 Indian Premier League match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab.

Under the provisions of the Code, Hasan chose to admit the charges and agreed the sanction with the ICC in lieu of an Anti-Corruption Tribunal hearing. If Shakib observes the suspension, he will be able to play again from Oct. 29, 2020, the ICC said.

Shakib Al Hasan said “I am obviously extremely sad to have been banned from the game I love, but I completely accept my sanction for not reporting the approaches. The ICC ACU is reliant on players to play a central part in the fight against corruption and I didn’t do my duty in this instance.”

“Like the majority of players and fans around the world, I want cricket to be a corruption free sport and I am looking forward to working with the ICC ACU team to support their education programme and ensure young players don’t make the same mistake I did.”

Alex Marshall, ICC General Manager – Integrity said: “Shakib Al Hasan is a highly experienced international cricketer. He has attended many education sessions and knows his obligations under the Code. He should have reported each of these approaches.”

“Shakib has accepted his errors and cooperated fully with the investigation. He has offered to assist the Integrity Unit in future education, to help younger players to learn from his mistakes. I am happy to accept this offer.”

Shakib recently led a strike by Bangladesh’s cricketers, which they called off a week ago when the country’s cricket board accepted most of their demands including pay rises and other benefits.