ACU completes DPL fixing probe, awaits BCB president’s return

  Bangla Press Desk:  Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) has completed its investigation into the controversial dismissals that occurred during a Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League (DPL) match between Shinepukur Cricket Club and Gulshan Cricket earlier this year. The incidents, which drew widespread criticism and raised suspicions of potential foul play, are now under official review with a report set to be submitted to BCB President Aminul Islam Bulbul upon his return to the country. “Yes, the enquiry is almost done,” an ACU official told Daily Sun on Wednesday. “Now we will submit our report when the president returns. We could have submitted it earlier. But we were instructed to go a bit deeper. So we took some forensic support. That forensic report took a bit of time. Now we have the result. We came to the conclusion. Now we will just have to submit it,” the official added.

The probe was launched after footage from the match showed two Shinepukur batters—Rahim Ahmed and Minhazul Abedin Sabbir—getting out in bizarre fashion. Rahim was stumped by Gulshan wicketkeeper Mahidul Islam Ankon after carelessly stepping out to left-arm spinner Nihaduzzaman in the 36th over and making no attempt to return to the crease. Sabbir’s dismissal in the 44th over sparked even greater outrage: the batter appeared to kneel inside the crease and allowed himself to be stumped, again without resistance. Both incidents immediately triggered a social media storm and intense scrutiny from the cricketing fraternity. Former Bangladesh internationals were vocal in their criticism. Shamsur Rahman called the dismissals “seriously shameful,” while Shahriar Nafees posted the video clips on his social platforms with the caption “Disgraceful,” echoing the sentiments of many fans and pundits. In response, the BCB ACU launched a detailed investigation, which included interviews with the players and coaching staff from both teams. Most notably, the players involved were asked to re-enact their dismissals at the BCB Academy Ground in Mirpur. ACU officials filmed the re-enactments as part of their forensic analysis to determine whether the actions could be interpreted as intentional underperformance or match manipulation. The board is now looking to strengthen its domestic integrity mechanisms, including clearer codes of conduct for players and tighter match supervision at all levels of domestic competition. The ACU emphasized that such incidents will be closely monitored in future tournaments, with tighter match supervision and clear codes of conduct to be enforced. This article was originally published on Daily Sun. [Bangla Press is a global platform for free thought. It provides impartial news, analysis, and commentary for independent-minded individuals. Our goal is to bring about positive change, which is more important today than ever before.] B P/SP