The country’s cricket lovers woke up in disbelief on Friday after media reports suggested the poison of match-fixing had been injected into the veins of the national
players by some stalwarts of the past way back in 2004.
It was reported that embattled Mohammad Ashraful had confessed to the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit that he was introduced to match-fixers by former national skippers Khaled Mahmud and Khaled Mashud along with veteran left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique.
The cricket fraternity was already rocked after it was leaked to the media that Ashraful had admitted to ACSU of fixing matches in the Bangladesh Premier League at the instruction of Dhaka Gladiators team management.
It hardly had the same amount of effect until it was leaked that Ashraful had done spot-fixing wearing the jersey of the Tigers during the 100th ODI of Bangladesh against India in 2004.
From the social media to the tea vendors on the streets it was a hot topic as the report implicated some of the figures who were always treated with respect in the country’s cricketing corridor.
‘I am shocked. How can they cheat with our pride?,’ said Rafiqul Islam, a disheartened student of the IBA.
‘It is immoral as we try to project them as our national heroes,’ he commented furiously while discussing the issue with his friends in the backyard of his house at Mirpur
It was reported though that Bangladesh had won their 100th match, their first ever one-day international victory on home soil, Ashraful made his entrance into the world of darkness through that match by accepting the offer of scoring 60 runs in the first 15 overs (Tigers put on 61 in 15 overs) and received Tk 4.5 lakh for playing his part by scoring a 41-ball 28.
Later in 2009, Mahmud and Rafique introduced Ashraful to Sunil Bhatia of India for spot-fixing against India in a Test match for which he received Tk 7 lakh, though he returned the entire amount later because he unable to do so after being out.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board directors were not ready to speaking their mind regarding the incident compared to the layman of the country due to their obligation to the board but hardly could they suppress their surprise as was evident in their voice.
‘We can’t comment on anything unless we receive any thorough report from the ACSU,’ Sazzadul Alam, ad-hoc committee member of the BCB, told New Age.
All the social media from facebook to twitter were loaded with thousands of comments voicing their disappointment while the users remained busy uploading their bitter reaction.
It emerged that Ashraful had received a handsome amount from a bookie called Gandhi for his involvement in spot-fixing in the Sri Lankan Premier League and in the Twenty20 World Cup.
Gandhi, who was introduced to Ashraful in 2007, paid him $10,000 for scoring 14 runs in between the 7th and 9th overs in SLPL despite failing to do the job.
But Ashraful repaid him in the T20 World Cup when he was assigned to score less than 10 runs in fifth and sixth overs and after managing to score eight he received Tk 25 lakh.
The BCB had punished a former cricketer and an umpire in the past for their involvement in spot-fixing but none of their offences could be compared with what just has come to light.
‘Now we have achieved the international standard truly,’ wrote a shocked fan on his facebook page. ‘Cricket was our only pride and now it has also become tainted,’ he summed up his frustration.
-With New Age input
