Four bookies thrown out of BPL stadiums; suspicions cast on Barisal vs Chittagong match
At least four suspected bookmakers have been thrown out of cricket stadiums during the ongoing season of the Bangladesh Premier League, an official revealed on Thursday. They had been spotted by anti-corruption officials on suspicion of placing bets on behalf of clients during the Twenty20 league matches.
The scandal-tainted BPL resumed in November this year after its 2013 edition was blighted by a match-fixing scandal involving players and team owners.
"We don't have the law to put them behind bars so we opted to throw them out (of the grounds)," BPL secretary Ismail Haider Mallick told AFP, without revealing the nationalities of those identified.
Betting on matches is illegal in Bangladesh, and the 2013 edition of this tournament famously involved high-profile players and team owners intentionally underperforming on grounds of such bets.
This year, the Bangladesh Premier League, and Mohammad Amir, are both on their way to redemption.
Suspicious 16th over
However, local media cast suspicions on a November 30 match, calling the outcome "dubious" after several incidents, including a bowler conceding numerous runs in a single over, including with a no-ball and wides, during the Barisal Bulls' win over the Chittagong Vikings.
"We cannot investigate a match simply based on media reports," said Mallick, talking about that match. "Our anti-corruption officials are active in every ground and hotel. If they find anything fishy only then we will investigate."
The match in question was a heavily one-sided affair which went in Barisal’s favour, with questions cast especially on the 16th over of their innings, which involved some very poor fielding efforts and two no-balls.
Shaiful Islam had bowled the over, and fielder Ziaur Rahman at long off was seen parrying what should have been an easy catch over the ropes for a six. Two balls later, a similar sight was seen at the long on boundaries, as fielding reached a new low.
It might just have been an exceptionally poor day in office for the Chittagong Vikings, but some fingers have been pointed. The Vikings are led by Tamim Iqbal, and international stars on their side include Kamran Akmal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Elton Chigumbura, Mohammad Amir and others.
Nearly 50 foreign cricketers, including Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara and West Indies' Chris Gayle, are taking part in the glitzy six-franchise tournament.