ICC bans world’s top ODI all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan for two years
By Bhartendu Sharma Published on 29 Oct 2019 3:05 PM GMT
Kolkata: In a significant development, the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned (with one year of suspension) Bangladeshi cricketer Shakib Al Hasan for two years, after he accepted three charges of breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code.
The charges he accepted are in regards to his failure to disclose to the ACU, full details of any approaches or invitations he received to engage in corrupt conduct. The charges are in relation to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe Tri-Series in January 2018 and/or the 2018 IPL; the second approach in respect of the Tri-Series in January 2018; and an IPL 2018 match between Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kings XI Punjab on April 26 2018.
Shakib admitted the charges under the mentioned provisions of the code. He agreed to the sanction with the ICC in place of an Anti-Corruption Tribunal hearing. According to ICC, Shakib will be free to resume international cricket from October 29, 2020 subject to him satisfying the conditions in respect of the suspended part of the sanction.
After Shakib was handed the ban, he said, “I am extremely sad to have been banned from the game I love, but I 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, he wants cricket to be a corruption-free sport. “I am looking forward to working with the ICC ACU team to support their educational programme and ensure young players don’t make the same mistake he did,” the Bangladeshi cricketer added.
Meanwhile, Alex Marshall, ICC General Manager (Integrity), said, “Shakib is a highly experienced international cricketer. He has attended many educational sessions, and he knows his obligations under the code. He should have reported each of these approaches.”
Apart from being the number one all-rounder in ODIs, Shakib stands second in T20Is all-rounder list and third among the Test cricket all-rounders.
