Shakib Al Hasan banned by ICC
DHAKA/DUBAI: Bangladeshi captain and multi-faceted star Shakib Hassan received a two-year suspension from the International Cricket Council on Tuesday for failing to report three corrupt methods, including an IPL approach, by a suspected Indian bookmaker, and expelled him from the next round of India.
Twelve months of this prohibition are a suspended sentence that will come into effect if Shakib does not comply with the UN anti-corruption law.
The one-year ban will keep him out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) next year as well as the 20th World Championships in Australia from October 18 to November 15 of the same year.
"Obviously, I am very sad because I was excluded from the game I love, but I fully agree with my punishment for not reporting the methods. The ICU relies on players who play a key role in fighting corruption and I have not. In a press release issued by the International Criminal Court, Shakib said:
In his absence, best player, Mushfiqur Rahim, can lead the team in the tests, while one of the three T20 international captains Mahumudullah Mosaddek Hosain will be the team skipper.
The 32-year-old was away from the team's current training sessions before touring India on instructions from the International Cricket Council. The series against India consists of three international T20 tests and two tests, starting in Delhi with the shortest games on November 3.
The ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit spoke to Shakib in January and August this year and he did not report on the methods used by him "a person known to the ACU and suspected of involvement in cricket corruption, Deepak Agarwal."
The ICC said Aggarwal had asked Shakib to provide information on the composition and strategy of the team on three separate occasions, one of which was on April 26, 2018, when Sunrisers Hyderabad, an IPL concessionaire, had to face King XI Punjab. Sunrisers won the game for 13 races.
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The ICC said that "these letters dated April 26, 2018, included a number of deleted messages. He confirmed that these deleted messages contain Mr. Agarwal's requests for information from within."
Agarwal's other two approaches were during the Bangladesh Premier League when Shakib played for the Dhaka Dynamics in 2017, followed by a triple series against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka in January 2018.
The ICC said they wanted to meet Shakib, but the cricketer did not do so because he was worried about Mr. Aggarwal, and felt he was a bit questionable and that after his talks, he had the feeling that Mr. Aggarwal was a bookmaker.
Shakib, who survived the five-year maximum penalty for the crime, will not have the right to appeal because he accepted the investigation and the charges of the International Cricket Council.
Shakib recently led the players' strike before being suspended after the BCB said his demands, including wage increases, would be met.
He is the undisputed one of the great cricketers in Bangladesh with over 11,000 races and over 500 wickets over three forms.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) said that while Shakib's voluntary admission, cooperation during the interviews worked in his favor, the fact that he had not reported on progress for months was a "tough" factor.
"Mr. Hassan is an experienced international player, and after participating in several anti-corruption education sessions, he was fully aware of his responsibilities under the law," the IAEA said in his trial.
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