BCB Integrity unit question players and seize phones of officials of certain franchises after finding ‘credible suspicion’.
BCB integrity unit finds ‘credible suspicion’ during BPL.
The BCB’s integrity team conducted “routine” actions, like as interrogating players and confiscating franchise officials’ cell phones, after discovering “credible suspicion” during the ongoing BPL. A BCB news release on Sunday stated that the unit has not yet found anyone guilty or placed any players under investigation.
“As part of standard integrity procedures, several foreign players have been spoken to privately as witnesses in order to verify recruitment processes, contractual arrangements, and payment structures,” the BCB statement read. “Such meetings are confidential and preventive in nature, and do not imply that any player is under investigation or has already been found guilty.”
The statement comes after Atik Fahad, the CEO of the Dhaka Capitals, accused the integrity unit police of breaking into their batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s hotel room in Sylhet over the weekend. Fahad also hinted that the franchise could have to reconsider its involvement in upcoming editions due to the psychological toll on his players.
“The anti-corruption unit should have at least considered this before going to such a player, but this type of behaviour with a big player is something neither he can accept nor can we accept,” Fahad said during a press briefing. “Going into the room of a big foreign player – someone who is playing in the ILT20 and elsewhere – and creating trouble like that.
“If the management is not content mentally, if my players are not content, what better result can we expect? We are running the BPL while losing BDT 2-3 crore every year. On top of that, if we are mentally tortured like this, I don’t know how we can stay competitive or continue to operate a franchise. If this situation continues, we won’t have the courage to continue at all. I invest money, absorb losses, bring CSR funds from different companies, and then leave with humiliation. That is simply not possible.”