On Friday (January 26), the Bangladesh Premier League franchise Fortune Barishal issued a statement retracting the allegations of match rigging that were made against their star Shoaib Malik.
Malik bowled three no-balls in his fourth over and gave away 18 runs during their third match against Khulna Tigers at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on January 22. His actions resulted in the dismissal of the franchise, which occurred hours after the owner of the team, Mizanur Rahman, was quoted on a private television channel, urging the Anti-Corruption Unit to take note of the situation.
“It (ACU investigating Shoaib’s three no balls) should be done,” On January 25, Mizanur disclosed to Channel 24 that he had been notified that the BCB’s ACU was, in fact, conducting an investigation into the situation.”If it is done (ACU investigation) it would be good because three no balls in one over bowled by an off-spinner is looking really absurd to me and we lost the match there,” he said.
Friday was the day that Mizanur changed his tone on the team’s Facebook page, putting an end to the fire that he had himself stoked about fixing the problem.“Last few days we are hearing a lot about Shoaib Malik. I deeply protest against it and he is a good player and he had given his best for our team and so we don’t want to discuss about it any further,” he said.
According to Mizanur, who was approached by Cricbuzz, he stated that he was merely sharing his opinions with the television program and expressed regret for the selection of his comments.
“It’s unfortunate because I was just sharing my thoughts with them and they telecasted it. We speak and discuss about lot of things but that does not imply we are standing by it. But still I feel that I shouldn’t have spoken that way,” he said.
According to reports, the franchise had terminated Malik’s contract due to charges of rigging, however Mizanur refuted the reports. It was disclosed by him that Malik had, in fact, left for the United Arab Emirates following the team’s most recent encounter. However, he had requested an extension of his leave, which the franchise would not grant. As a result, Ahmed Shehzad was brought in to take his position.
“Shoaib Malik was expected to stay with us till February 14 and after the last match he went to Dubai and later asked me whether he can come [back] on February 6, but our main games are after that [14th] so it won’t help if he comes on 6th and so I said ‘we don’t need you’.
“But it had got nothing to do with all the things that is coming up in media like we terminated his contract due to match-fixing allegations,” he concluded.
In the ever-evolving drama of cricket, this chapter adds another layer to the intriguing narrative surrounding CricAdvisor and the events that unfolded on that fateful day in the Bangladesh Premier League. Stay tuned to CricAdvisor for more updates on this gripping tale.
