Banned former national skipper Mohammad Ashraful on Tuesday apologised to the nation for letting them down by involving himself in match-fixing and spot-fixing in
the local and international matches.
His apology came hours after the Bangladesh Cricket Board banned him until further notice pending the full report of an investigation by the Anti-Corruption and Security issue of International Cricket Council.
This was his first public appearance since the ongoing match-fixing saga that unfolded in the media.
‘I should not have done this injustice to the nation. I feel guilty,’ Ashraful told a private television channel in an interview. ‘I would only say ‘Please, everyone forgive me, my conduct was improper,’ said Ashraful.
‘I admitted to the ACSU about all the wrongdoings that I had committed during the 12-year long career,’ said Ashraful with his eyes swollen and his heart aching.
‘I had lots of fan following while a lot of people used to love me but I betrayed them,’ he added.
Ashraful’s name came up after a leading Bengali daily leaked his confession to ACSU regarding his involvement in match-fixing during the Bangladesh Premier League.
Later it was reported that the 28-year old Gladiators star Ashraful was allegedly paid about one million taka ($12,800) to lose the match against Chittagong Kings on February 2 but the cheque he was given later bounced.
The big-hitting batsman was also allegedly involved in fixing another match 10 days later, against the Barisal Burners, in which his team lost by seven wickets, the local newspaper reports have said.
Ashraful said he always felt it was necessary to tell everything to the ICC but he insisted that he never got the chance.
‘I confessed it all for the sake of cricket. If I was quizzed earlier I would have admitted. In my 12-year career I was first interrogated when we came back from Zimbabwe and I readily admitted all my offences.
‘I played nearly 250 Tests, ODIs and Twenty20s in my 12-year career. May be I have committed a few wrongs. But I always wanted to tell them. I never wanted to feel guilty and tried to remain as honest as I could be and performed to the best of my abilities for my country,’ he said.
‘It is not that I felt guilty just during the international matches. People in Bangladesh always loved me and I have let them down. They always trusted me. But for me the situation was different.
‘I was a victim of the situation,’ he said.
Ashraful became the country’s youngest Test centurion in 2001 at the age of 17 and captained Bangladesh between 2007 and 2009.
-With New Age input
