Bangladesh cricket board charges four in betting probe

DHAKA: Bangladesh cricket authorities have charged four people with corruption linked to the country’s premier T20 competition, the Bangladesh Premier League, the national board chief said on Thursday.

The sweeping crackdown over alleged betting-related offences caught up officials from three franchises and a domestic cricketer.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) ad hoc committee head Tamim Iqbal said they had acted swiftly to “set an example”.

“If we wanted to, we could have dragged this thing for another two or three months,” Iqbal told reporters.

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“But the only thing our board said was that if we have enough evidence – execute.”

The board said domestic cricketer Amit Mojumder and Sylhet Titans manager Rezwan Kabir Siddique were charged with violating the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption code.

Chattogram Royals manager Md. Lablur Rahman and Noakhali Express co-owner Md. Towhidul Haque Towhid were charged with failing to cooperate with investigators and obstructing the probe.

All four, who have been provisionally suspended, have 14 days to respond to the allegations.

Separately, the BCB said it had banned another Chattogram Royals official, Saminur Rahman, from participating in any board-sanctioned cricket activity for alleged corrupt practices in the BPL.