Mohammad Ashraful’s ban to be partially lifted on August 13

Former Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful served three years of the ban for involvement in match-fixing and spot-fixing in the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). However, his ban from professional cricket will be partially lifted on August 13.

Ashraful was initially banned for 8 years and later on it was reduced to 5 years, with two years suspended subject to his participation in a BCB or ICC anti-corruption education and training programme.

A BCB press release in September 2014 had stated that “upon production of a certificate of good conduct from the ICC, he will be eligible to return to cricket on or about August 13, 2016”. Ashraful will be allowed to resume first-class domestic cricket in Bangladesh as well as non-first-class domestic cricket in other ICC members’ jurisdictions from August 13 if the certificate is issued by the ICC.

BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said the board was seeking clarification from the ICC to get details on what types of domestic tournaments Ashraful would be eligible to participate in. When asked whether Ashraful would be able to play franchise-based domestic tournaments in Bangladesh, Chowdhury said, “We have sent a letter to the ICC regarding Ashraful’s issue and we will get to know about the details by Sunday. There are a few aspects which we need to know.”

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In June 2014, the BPL’s anti-corruption tribunal banned Ashraful for 8 years and he was fine with Tk 10 lakh (USD12,500 approx). In September that year, his ban was reduced to five years. Both BCB and ICC have appealed against the ban reduction but was unsuccessful.