Bangladesh Cricket Board locked on to crackdown on players scandal

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has assured tough actions against all the players who have been proven guilty of misconduct or bringing the game into disrepute amid a series of high-profile scandals involving the top stars alongside the cricketers.

The warning was the latest allegation of the fast bowler Mohammad Shahid against whom was his wife who had accused him of torturing her. Farzana Akhtar told the BCB at the weekend that her 28-year-old husband had hidden his marital status from the other women, after which he had tortured them before she stepped him in the middle.

The pace bowler, who is currently undergoing treatment for a knee injury sustained during a domestic match denied all the allegations.

“The allegation of torture is not true. Somebody is provoking her to raise complaint against me,” Shahid told AFP.

BCB president Nazmul Hussain said that it is difficult for the board to look at every players’ lives but he has mentioned that the cricketers involved in such activities would be heavily punished if found guilty.

“We have tried a lot to control them when they are with the squad. We’ve become tougher when they stay in hotels under our care,” he told reporters. The problems start when they leave (the hotel). We cannot monitor their personal issues. We have taken action against similar incidents in the past. We want (them) to get everything in order, otherwise we’ll be compelled to take tough action in future.” added the President.

Earlier, fellow pacer Rubel Hossain was detained in 2015, after an actress had accused him of charges such as rape before the charges were withdrawn. Shahadat Hossain too spent two months in custody last year after he and his wife were arrested on charges of torturing an 11-year-old girl they employed as a maid.

The increasing cases that have turned up against the Bangladeshi cricketers have caught the eye of the media, and if not for a change, serious actions might have to be taken in the future.