BPL Match-fixing: Ashraful banned for 8 years

Sports Correspondent: Mohammad Ashraful has been banned for eight years from playing all kinds of cricket while Dhaka Gladiator owner Shihab Chowdhury for ten years from all kinds of cricket activities for their involvement in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) match fixing.

An Anti Corruption Tribunal of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced the verdict at a press briefing in the capital’s Gulshan on Wednesday afternoon.

Foreign players New Zealand cricketer Lou Vincent and Sri Lankan Kaushal Lokuarachchi also ineligible for cricket for 3 years and 18 months respectively, the verdict said.

The BCB tribunal also fined Mohammad Ashraful Tk. 10 lakh while Shihab Chowdhury Tk. 20 lakh.

The convicts are entitled to appeal with the chairman of the disciplinary panel formed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), said Justice Khademul Islam, convenor of the three-member tribunal.

The incident of alleged match and spot-fixing was revealed in May 2013 after a Bangladesh player had been questioned by the ICC.

On January 19, the full hearing of the tribunal began against nine accused over the allegations brought by the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU).

Ashraful was the first player to admit to being involved in corruption, after which formal charges were laid against nine individuals, including six players from the Dhaka Gladiators franchise.

Kaushal Lokuarachchi later confessed to his wrongdoings.

The tribunal delivered the reason judgement on the charges on June 8. Six of the nine charged by ACSU were acquitted.

Dhaka Gladiators owner Shihab Chowdhury was the only one proved guilty by the tribunal. New Zealand cricketer Lou Vincent -- who was not initially charged – confessed during the course of the investigation.

risingbd/DHAKA/June 18, 2014/Augustin Sujan