Shakib Al Hasan banned from all cricket for TWO years for ‘failing to report corrupt approaches’
SHAKIB AL HASAN has been banned from all cricket for TWO years after "failing to report corrupt approaches".
The world No1 ODI all-rounder and Bangladesh captain accepted three charges for breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code.
The approaches came during an international tri-series involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in January 2018 and that year's IPL.
One year of his 24-month sentence is suspended and he would be free to resume international cricket on October 29, 2020 if he meets the conditions of his sanction.
Al Hasan, 32, agreed the ban in lieu of an Anti-Corruption Tribunal hearing.
He will now miss the upcoming T20 and Test series with India as well as the majority of the T20 World Cup, which takes place between October 11 and November 2 next year.
The Bangladeshi said: "I am obviously extremely sad to have been banned from the game I love, but I completely accept my sanction for not reporting the approaches.
"The ICC ACU is reliant on players to play a central part in the fight against corruption and I didn’t do my duty in this instance.
"Like the majority of players and fans around the world, I want cricket to be a corruption-free sport and I am looking forward to working with the ICC ACU team to support their education programme and ensure young players don’t make the same mistake I did."
No sympathy whatsoever for Shakib Al Hasan, none whatsoever. Two years isn’t enough. It should have been longer.
Michael Vaughan
Alex Marshall, ICC General Manager for Integrity, added: "Shakib Al Hasan is a highly-experienced international cricketer.
"He has attended many education sessions and knows his obligations under the Code. He should have reported each of these approaches.
"Shakib has accepted his errors and cooperated fully with the investigation. He has offered to assist the Integrity Unit in future education, to help younger players to learn from his mistakes. I am happy to accept this offer."
Ex-England captain Michael Vaughan, though, was scathing of the punishment and believes Al Hasan has got off lightly.
He blasted: "No sympathy whatsoever for Shakib Al Hasan, none whatsoever.
"In this era the players get briefed all the time about what they can and can’t do and what they have to report straightaway.
"Two years isn’t enough. It should have been longer."
Al Hasan has represented Bangladesh in 338 matches and played an important role for his country at this summer's Cricket World Cup in England, where he was named in the team of the tournament.
He smashed an impressive 606 runs across eight innings, including 121 against the hosts and an unbeaten 124 against the West Indies.
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And the all-rounder also delivered with the ball in hand with 11 wickets, with a five-wicket haul in the match with Afghanistan to become the first player to score 500 runs and take 10 wickets in a single tournament.
But despite his displays on English soil over the summer, he was overlooked as one of the overseas picks in the inaugural The Hundred draft for next summer's competition.
No Bangladeshi player was selected, largely due to their lack of availability with Test series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand in July and August.