'Feels good to be loved'

Cricket fans, loyal to a crestfallen former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful, brought out a procession in front of the BCB headquarters at Mirpur yesterday. Photo: Star

Police dispersed a host of Mohammad Ashraful's fans yesterday morning after they had gathered near the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium to request the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to minimise the cricketer's punishment following his public confession that he had fixed matches in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20.
The fans, who were carrying banners stating 'Forgive Ashraful, he was trapped', 'Minimise punishment, catch the real culprits', had earlier revealed their plans of forming a human chain through a fan page on social media site Facebook.
However, Jashim Uddin, additional deputy commissioner of police in Mirpur division, told reporters that the fans had to be dispersed as they hadn't taken prior permission to hold the programme.
Reacting to the incident, Ashraful told reporters that he was overwhelmed by the show of support. “I don't have any words for them at the moment. But it always feels good to be loved by fans,” said Ashraful.
Earlier this week the batsman had sensationally confessed to fixing in the BPL to the media. A disciplinary measure will be taken against the player as per the report of the ICC's Anti Corruption and Security Unit.