Not enough evidence against Krishmar Santokie, says BCB ACU

The Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB’s) anti-corruption unit has not found anything alarming against Sylhet Thunder’s West Indian pacer Krishmar Santokie for his suspicious wide and no-ball deliveries against Chattogram Challengers in the opening game of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). The ACU has now closed the case after interrogating the left-arm pacer.

Santokie bowled a huge wide in his third delivery. Two balls later, he bowled the no-ball that raised a number of eyebrows as he was way over the line. In fact, the fans were comparing it with the infamous Mohammad Amir‘s no-balls in the 2010 Lord’s Test. But unlike Amir, Santokie was not involved in any corrupt activity as the ACU confirmed it.

“Whenever there is any evident doubt, they (ACU) normally investigate the matter. The ACU may not have gotten any conclusive evidence in this issue and it is the reason why the matter did not come to us. Following media reports, they (ACU) have investigated the matter but in this case, they did not have enough evidence. I think that was the case in this matter too,” BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury told the media.

According to Bangladeshi news outlet The Daily Star, Sylhet team director, Tanjil Chowdhury had requested the BCB to investigate Santokie’s wide and no-ball. Tanjil had reportedly said that there was a lot of conflict between him and the team sponsors during the players draft and that he was not happy after the sponsors roped in Santokie. Later, he took to social media to issue a clarification on the same.

Poor season so far

Sylhet Thunder, meanwhile, are struggling in the ongoing season. At present, they are lying at the sixth spot in the seven-team table. So far, they have lost six of their seven games. Their only win came against Khulna Tigers when they won the game by 80 runs. Well out of the race for the playoffs, Sylhet will play five more games and will be looking to turn their fortunes around.

Meanwhile, Chattogram Challengers are at the top of the points table with six wins from eight games. Rajshahi Royals, Khulna Tigers and Dhaka Platoon are at second, third and fourth position respectively.

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