BPL hit by spot-fixing approach

[stuge]

The Bangladesh Premier League has taken a hit before the tournament has even begun after Mashrafe Mortaza claimed that he had received an approach from a fellow cricketer regarding potential spot-fixing.

Mashrafe was quoted in Bangladeshi newspapers on Thursday morning as saying that he had reported the approach to his franchise, the Dhaka Gladiators, who have in turn alerted the league organisers.

The allrounder, who is to captain the Dhaka Gladiators in the Twenty20 competition, said he would stand down if he suspected any malpractice by his players once the action begins.

Reports claimed that Mashrafe was asked to provide information to bookmakers about when he would be playing, and even whether he would be wearing his cap or sunglasses, in return for 15-20% of the profits.

League secretary Mohammad Alamgir said on Thursday that he had only learned of the approach via the media.

"We have found out after reading the newspaper reports. I don't understand why he went to the press first before telling us. There's a proper process for all this," Alamgir was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"If he had reported it to us, we would have started investigation right away. But even now, we will talk to Mashrafe and take his official statement."

Alamgir said that an officer from the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit was in Dhaka for the tournament, and that the matter would be investigated.

"The protocol is for the player to report to the BPL governing council or for the franchise owners to report to BPL," he said. "None of them have done that before the news was published in the media. I will also tell our ACSU officer about the incident and we'll conduct whatever that is necessary in this situation."

The BPL, which involves six franchises, is due to begin on Thursday with an opening ceremony before the first matches take place on Friday in Dhaka.

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