Bangladesh bet on Shakib after dispute

BANGLADESH allrounder Shakib Al Hasan was last Saturday (13) named as captain of the Twenty20 side for the upcoming Asia Cup in the UAE and at the T20 World Cup in Australia in October and November.

The announcement came after the player cancelled an endorsement deal with a betting site following the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB)’s ultimatum to him to either step away from it or face the axe in the national team.

“Shakib gave a letter to us saying that he was terminating his contract with Betwinner news and removing all posts from his

social media pages regarding the deal,” BCB cricket operations chief Jalal Yunus said.

Shakib last week announced a partnership with Betwinner news, a portal operated by the gambling firm based on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao.

All forms of gambling are illegal in Bangladesh, and cricket administrators were quick to seek an explanation from the player..

Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president last Thursday said they had asked Shakib to choose between the national team and Betwinner.

“There is no question of second thoughts,” Hassan told reporters in Dhaka. “He has to come out of this, otherwise, he will not be in the squad. There is no scope for negotiation. We are clear about this.”

The International Cricket Council (ICC) banned the all-rounder for two years – one of them suspended – in 2019 after he failed to record corrupt approaches to the authorities.

Bangladesh reappointed Shakib as Test captain in June following the resignation of Mominul Haque.