Former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful can expect a lighter punishment for being the whistleblower in the Bangladesh Premier League match-fixing scandal, ICC chief executive officer David Richardson said on Tuesday. Ashraful is one of nine individuals charged with various offences committed during BPL 2013 and is now facing a ban of five years to life for his actions in the competition.
Per the BCB’s anti-corruption code, anyone who pleads guilty to match-fixing offences or is found guilty by a tribunal would be subject to sanctions ranging from five-year suspensions to life-bans.
However, Richardson said that the anti-corruption tribunal that is to be formed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board could reduce the punishment beyond the minimum five years, provided it received extraordinary support from the accused.
‘In any disciplinary proceeding, where the accused show remorse, tell the truth and cooperate with the inquiry, the tribunal can take it into the account in determining the appropriate penalty,’ Richardson told the press conference.
‘That would apply to Ashraful and all the other who may be charged. It would obviously be in the hands of the BCB tribunal,’ he said.
Ashraful is the only player to have admitted to his involvement in the scandal so far and he has reportedly cooperated fully with the ICC Anti Corruption and Security Unit.
The ICC refused to disclose the identities of others accused in the scandal, prompting questions about whether it has already done an injustice to the former Bangladesh captain.
Richardson said the ICC bears no responsibility for the comments Ashraful made to local media.
‘Mr. Ashraful made those comments to the media on his own; we did not ask him to,’ he said.
Ashraful promised further cooperation when he met the ICC delegation in their hotel, hours before they announced the charges against him and the eight others.
‘They appreciated that I came to them with the truth and verified that the statement they are going to give to the BCB is correct,’ Ashraful told reporters.
‘I am helping the ICC and they asked me if I could continue to cooperate.
‘There was no word about my punishment,’ he added.
-With New Age input
