BCB chief claims that the board knew nothing about the ICC investigation on Shakib Al Hasan

Bangladesh premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan’s failure to report a corruption approach has cost him dearly. The cricketer has been banned by the ICC for two years for the same. On Tuesday, this news spread like wildfire and subjected that fans to a great shock. To see one of the best all-rounders in the world at the moment not taking the field for a year from now isn’t something that was pleasing. While something of this sorts was inevitable after what Shakib has done, there are various responses being received about the same.

Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) chief, Nazmul Hassan, also had his say on the matter. In a surprising revelation, he claimed that the board had no inkling about the ICC anti-corruption investigation. “I want to state something clearly. And, that is that neither I nor anyone from the BCB knew anything about the investigation which has been going on from January,” Hassan was quoted as saying by the local media.

Shakib Al Hasan informed me after the meeting regarding the strike

Nazmul said that the anti-corruption unit, an independent body, communicated with Shakib Al Hasan. Furthermore, he even told that the 32-year-old informed him about the investigation just two or three days ago. This was after the meeting with the players regarding the strike. “The ACU, an independent body, communicated with Shakib. He informed me two or three days ago following the meeting with the players regarding the strike,” he insisted.

“I don’t deny that I was angry at him for not reporting the issue. But at the same time we are pleased that he has cooperated fully with the ICC’s ACU (Anti-Corruption Unit) and has pledged his commitment to its education programme,” said Hassan.

Nazmul Hassan added that there are no substitutes for players like Mashrafe Mortaza and Shakib. He even informed that the planning for the important upcoming series was done keeping the all-rounder in mind.

“I have always said that we don’t have substitutes for two players – Mashrafe (ODI captain) as a captain and Shakib as a player. He is one of the best players in the world. Him not being able to play is a real shock,” Hassan said. “We have a very important series in front of us. We are playing our first full series in India and ICC Test Championship is beginning. The planning behind everything was done with Shakib in mind,” he added as quoted by NDTV.

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