The much talked-about ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit report on BPL corruption has been delayed further. This time the wait could be till the first week of August, according to BCB president Nazmul Hassan. Mohammad Ashraful, the only one interviewed by the ACSU to have publicly confessed of wrongdoings, will remain temporarily suspended.
If the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League, the country’s domestic one-day competition, begins in July, which is the off-season in Bangladesh, Ashraful will miss the tournament. However, Hassan’s anxiety regarding other players’ names cropping up in the ACSU report seems to have abated for now.
“They haven’t completed the report,” Hassan said. “They are yet to complete interviews outside Bangladesh. As a result, they have asked for more time. From what I have understood after talking to them, I think we will most probably get the report in the first week of August.
“Because Ashraful is already temporarily suspended and the report is still not submitted, we don’t know what sort of decision we should take against him. He won’t play in this tournament, the rest can play.”
Hassan also discussed the possibility of further investigation and the formation of a 10-member tribunal, procedures he had ruled out when he first spoke publicly about the BPL corruption investigation.
“They have a few more steps remaining. Firstly, they will present their report. We have to see whether the evidence they have gathered against a certain player is enough, based on which we can take a decision against a player or anyone else.
“We could also have to do further investigation or form a tribunal, which is within the rules. The tribunal will take time, and since this is a lengthy procedure, it is not wise to hasten such a matter. We will start the league very soon.”
The league has been delayed three times already. It was first supposed to held in March and has changed dates twice in July.
