6 of 9 cleared of charges
Bowlers Mosharraf Hossain (Rubel) and Mahbubul Alam (Robin) and former national player Mohammad Rafique were cleared of all corruption charges brought by the ICC -- pertaining to the second edition of the Bangladesh Premier League -- by a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) tribunal yesterday.
However, Dhaka Gladiators co-owner, Shihab Chowdhury was found guilty 'for being a party to an effort to fix the Chittagong match (February 2)'.
Also cleared of the charges were English cricketer Darren Stevens, Gladiators owner Salim Chowdhury, CEO Gaurav Rawat who had pleaded not guilty.
The ICC through a press release expressed their surprise regarding the outcome.
“The ICC and the BCB have received the determination and are surprised and obviously disappointed with the outcome. Both organisations await the Tribunal's detailed written determination setting out the reasons for the outcome and will consider it carefully before determining the next steps, including whether to appeal any aspect(s) of the judgment,” stated the press release.
The fate of the other individuals accused -- namely Mohammad Ashraful and Kaushal Lokuarachchi -- who had already confessed to their crime, will be known in two weeks time. Both Ashraful and Lokuarachchi were asked to submit a mitigation brief depending on which the sanctions will be imposed by the tribunal.
While there were initially nine individuals accused of spot-fixing, it was learnt that a foreign player, who played in the BPL confessed during the hearing and pleaded guilty. He also had to follow a similar process and will know his fate in two weeks.
A press release sent from the tribunal yesterday stated in detail the charges made by the ICC against the accused.
According to the press release, Shihab and Salim Chowdhury, apart from being charged of fixing in the BPL were also charged of soliciting (Joshua) Cobb, (Darren) Stevens, (Ian) Pont and Tolchard to help fix Friends Life T20 (T20 tournament in the UK) matches. Both of them however, were found not guilty on that count.
The press release further stated that the provisional suspension that was imposed upon Mosharraf and Mahbubul was lifted yesterday and that the three-member tribunal would give its 'full reasons for their determination within the next two weeks'.
The hearing into the fixing scandal began on January 19. The three-member tribunal is being headed by former Supreme Court Judge Justice Khademul Islam. Justice Islam, former cricketer Shakil Kasem and Barrister Ajmalul Hossain have been attending the hearings.
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