IPL anti-corruption matters were handled by ICC, says BCCI ACU head on Shakib Al Hasan

Ajit Singh, head of BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), has said that investigations into Shakib Al Hasan’s breach of anti-corruption code during a 2018 IPL game was completely handled by the ICC. The Bangladesh ace all-rounder has been banned by the ICC for two years, with one year of that suspended, for breaking anti-corruption code.

Shakib Al Hasan faced the punishment for not reporting corrupt approaches by a bookie. The bookie named Deepak Aggarwal first got in touch with Shakib in November 2017. Two months later, he congratulated the all-rounder after he was named Man of the Match in a tri-series match before asking for internal details.

The bookie then approached Shakib once again when he was playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. As usual, the bookie contacted the allrounder to get information about the teams. Shakib, on his part, did not approach the right authorities to report the contact from the bookie and thus ended up breaking the protocols.

“That particular IPL season we are referring to, the anti-corruption matters were handled by the ICC. So the complete investigation was carried out by the ICC. The BCCI has no role in it,” Singh was quoted as saying by India Today. “We provided the necessary inputs from our end but the entire investigation was carried out by the ICC ACU,” he added.

Shakib Al Hasan’s absence will serve as motivation

Bangladesh are now gearing up for life without Shakib Al Hasan for at least a year and they could not have asked for a tougher start. The Tigers will face red-hot India in their next assignment. India are hosting Bangladesh for three T20Is and two Tests next month. In the absence of Shakib, Bangladesh will have their task cut out against India who have looked invincible in recent times.

However, newly-appointed T20I captain Mahmudullah believes that the absence of Shakib will serve as a motivation for the team. The new captain urged his teammates to play with their hearts for the nation. The T20I series will get underway on November 3 in New Delhi. Rajkot and Nagpur will host the other two T20Is.

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