ACSU report in August
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan Papon has said that the board is expected to receive the much talked about reports from the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) on suspected match-fixing in Bangladesh by the first week of August.
Speaking to reporters last night at the Royal Garden Hotel in London, the BCB boss said that ACSU requires more time to hand over the report as the unit wants to interrogate a number of foreign players to gather more information.
“Hopefully we will get the report in the first week of August. We were supposed to receive the report in this meeting but then they told me that they want to interview a number of non-Bangladeshi players before submitting the report,” said Papon, who is expected to return to Dhaka tomorrow after having attended the ICC Annual General Meeting in London.
“[Mohammad] Ashraful has already confessed regarding his involvement in fixing. We don't know if any other names will emerge in the report. Whatever be the case, we will take strong action. If needed we will form a separate tribunal to make sure that the guilty don't go unpunished,” he added.
The president had earlier stated that he wanted to receive the ACSU's report before starting the Dhaka Premier League. However, he told reporters last night that he had received a positive signal from the ICC and that the league could start without Ashraful, who had earlier publicly confessed to his wrongdoings.
The other important issue in the ICC meeting for Bangladesh was regarding the slow rate of progress in preparations of a venue for next year's Twenty20 World Cup.
“They had questions regarding venues at Sylhet and Cox's Bazar but we have assured them that the venues would be ready in time. We also told them that we have additional venues that are capable of hosting international matches apart from the selected venues for the world cup,” said Papon.
“There was a question regarding accommodation in Dhaka, but we managed to assure them that there would be no such problems,” he added.
A few days before the ICC AGM, Papon hit the headlines with a sensational disclosure saying that the game's governing body was considering an alternate venue for the mega event due to the slow progress at the Sylhet Divisional Stadium, one of the venues for the global tournament that will begin in Bangladesh in March next year.
Former BCB president and now the ICC vice president AHM Mustafa Kamal was also present during the press briefing.
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