Allegations of match fixing have been raised over the title-deciding fixture of the Ispahani National Cricket League between Dhaka and Khulna in which Dhaka emerged victors by 152 runs and also ensured the title.
Dhaka earned the trophy by virtue of a better run-per-wicket after finishing the league jointly on 42 points with Sylhet. Had Dhaka finished the final match with a draw Sylhet would have earned their maiden champion title in the competition.
A top source within the BCB preferring to remain unnamed said they had received an allegation that Dhaka somehow convinced Khulna to concede a defeat.
Dhaka were faced with the daunting prospect of taking ten Khulna wickets, highly-priced throughout the tournament, on the final day. However, they managed it in ease within only two hours.
Sources also claimed that Dhaka and Khulna both agreed to continue play on the final day despite heavy overnight rain drenching the pitch.
A top official of the BCB tournament committee said they had anticipated before the match that such a thing could happen and thus changed the match referee at the very last hour. Despite the initiative, the allegation has left the relevant official tainted.
However, chairman of the tournament committee, Nurul Kabir, was not among the officials concerned about the allegation.
He was reluctant to investigate the issue since it was reported only in the media.
“I cannot blame a team only based on the media. Nobody has yet reported the matter to us, officially. Besides, we had a match official present there who is supposed to give us a report on the match. If he hints at anything dubious, we will consider investigating the matter,” Kabir said last evening. Neither the match referee nor the official of Dhaka was available for comments.
Source: NewAge on 03/08/04