Nadir Shah, the banned Bangladesh umpire, has submitted a mercy plea to the BCB to reduce the term of his suspension. He was given a 10-year ban after a BCB investigation found him guilty of corruption after a Indian TV channel’s sting operation in 2012.
“I have submitted a mercy letter addressing the board president [Nazmul Hassan], and it [has been] received by the [acting] CEO [Nizamuddin Ahmed],” Shah said. “I have asked to lift the ban that the cricket board has issued against me as I have already [served] a year of [it]. I am hoping that the board will minimise the punishment. If the board cuts the punishment from 10 years to 2 or 3 years, I can make a comeback as an umpire again.”
The sting claimed to have “exposed” several first-class umpires from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan who were allegedly willing to give decisions favouring players for a fee. The undercover reporters claimed to belong to a sports management company and promised the umpires officiating assignments in events of all kinds around the world, largely domestic Twenty20 leagues.
Shah, who officiated in 40 ODIs and three Twenty20 internationals, was the only umpire to have met the undercover reporters in person. The other umpires operated through internet-based video chats.
Shah had said at the time that he went along with the undercover reporters’ plan because he had felt “threatened” by the people he met at a Delhi hotel. He maintained that stand in public, though he did admit his mistake to the BCB investigation committee.
