Shakib’s ban unfortunate, says BNP

Terming the ICC’s ban on iconic cricket all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan unfortunate, BNP on Wednesday hoped that he will return to the field soon.

“The incident involving Shakib is unfortunate. Undoubtedly, Shakib is a very talented cricketer and he’s part and parcel of our cricket team,” said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

Speaking at a press conference at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, he further said, “We expect that Shakib will return soon, and play again in full form and brighten the image of Bangladesh.”

The BNP leader said all the cricket lovers of the country have got shocked over the ban on Shakib as he will not be able to play over the next one year.

Fakhrul hoped that such shocking incident will not recur in the days to come.

On Tuesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned Shakib Al Hasan from all forms of cricket for two years, with keeping it suspended for one year, as he failed to report corrupt approaches.

In a media release on Tuesday, the world cricket body stated that Shakib was found guilty of breaching three counts of charges of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code.

Fakhrul said they are not sure yet whether Shakib has been subjected to any plot.

“There’re conspiracies in such matters. There’re plots to harm a talented player. These things will come out through investigations. I don’t want to say anything specifically in this regard as I don’t have any document and information about it. But such incidents happen in cricket,” he observed.

Replying to a question, he said the chaos in the country’s sports sector is the reflection of the current governing system. “The way government is running the country no one (sports organisations) has accountability. Every federation has now become the means of money earning through corruption.”

Fakhrul said it is regrettable that almost every club runs casinos.

He said how clubs run casinos without the knowledge of football federations, Bangladesh Cricket Board, Jatiya Krira Parishad, and the sports minister. “This means the government has completely failed and these things are happening for lack of good governance.”

source: UNB