[Miraz]

From BD News

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has let three selectors off the hook with rebuke and warning for their part in striking an international sponsorship deal for national cricketers.

The sport's governing body reprimanded one selector and warned two others for allegedly deriving personal gains from the deal, but stopped short of unmasking the selector who was found to have been 'aware' of the deal.

A BCB investigation cleared the two other selectors of the allegations.

"In our investigation, we have found no financial involvement of the selectors. But we have found that one of the selectors was fully aware of the deal," BCB General Secretary Mahbub Anam told reporters Tuesday.

Immediate past BCB president Ali Asghar Lobi, at a press briefing over his resignation, skirted a question on the allegations over sponsorship deal against the national selectors and left it to Anam to clarify the issue.

"We verbally and officially reprimanded one of them and asked them to refrain from such activities in future," Anam said. "The BCB will take stern actions if it their involvement were found in future."

The BCB general secretary said they launched a covert investigation but none of the cricketers said anything that conclusively proved wrongdoing by the selectors.

"We even examined the cricketers' deal and found that the deals were directly finalised by the Indian agent."

Questions have been raised as to how the BCB could expect the cricketers to testify fearlessly knowing that the selectors in question are going to pick them for the national team.

Press reports in July have it that Selector Athar Ali Khan, also the distributor of Reebok Sportswear in Bangladesh, made the Reebok deal for national captain Habibul Bashar and Mohammad Ashraful for commission.

It was also alleged that Chief of Selectors Faruque Ahmed received an undisclosed amount for helping Ahsraful sign for Rainhill Cricket Club of England.