Bangladesh captain and star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was banned on Tuesday from all cricket for two years, with one year suspended, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said.
The ban came after Shakib “accepted three charges of breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code”, the sport’s governing body said in a statement.
These included failing to disclose to the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) full details of approaches or invitations made in relation to the Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe Tri-Series in January 2018 as well as the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL), it said.
“Under the provisions of the Code, Mr Al Hasan chose to admit the charges and agreed the sanction with the ICC in lieu of an Anti-Corruption Tribunal hearing,” the ICC said.
“Subject to him satisfying the conditions in respect of the suspended part of the sanction, he will be free to resume international cricket on 29 October 2020,” it added.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the country’s cricket board, the BCB, “will always be with Shakib and will help him in every way”.
She said that while match-fixers often contact players, Sbakib’s “mistake is that when he was contacted he didn’t give it too much importance. He didn’t inform… the ICC”.
Only last week, Shakib led a brief strike by Bangladesh’s professional cricketers to press for better pay and benefits.
