Embattled former national captain Mohammad Ashraful has left for the United Kingdom to seek advice from a lawyer familiar with match-fixing related charges, sources close to the player confirmed on Wednesday. Ashraful, one of the nine individuals charged by the ICC for match-fixing in the 2013 edition of the Bangladesh Premier League, has already confessed to the offence publicly, though he has yet to formally plead guilty.
Media reports suggest that Ashraful is in talks with reputed British lawyer Barrister Yasin Patel, who also defended disgraced former Pakistan captain Salman Butt in his match-fixing proceedings.
Though Patel did not succeed in freeing Butt from corruption charges, his familiarity with the issue prompted Ashraful to seek his advice, according to a report in a local Bengali daily.
‘He arrived in the UK a few days ago and is now staying with a family in the Cambridge area,’ said a close of friend of Ashraful.
Attempts to reach Ashraful were unsuccessful, though the number he usually uses when in the UK was found switched on.
-With New Age input
