Bangladesh board to probe corruption allegations

Bangladesh cricket was facing a crisis after claims in the local media that a national selector had taken commissions from a deal two players have with sportswear company Reebok, while another was said to have taken payment for finding a player for an English club.

Atahar Ali Khan was named in Dhaka newspapers as having taken money resulting from a contract between the company and Habibul Bashar, Bangladesh's captain, and Mohammad Ashraful.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board immediately announced it would be looking into the allegations. "If it is found that the selector took commissions or in any way influenced the deal with the national cricketers, we will take action," Mahmudur Rahman, the BCB's chief executive, told a press conference in which the selectors were also present. He also insisted that both selectors were innocent. "We have full faith on them [the selectors]. We have asked them about the allegation and they denied it. I, on behalf of the BCB, have brought the selectors in front you to clear their position."

The three-year deal was signed in June and was given the approval of the BCB after it was established that it did not clash with pre-existing board commitments. But last week several papers carried claims that Khan, who has the distribution rights for Reebok in Bangladesh, took sizable commissions on the agreement, an allegation he vehemently denied. "I did not know anything about the deal. Reebok international or Reebok India, from where my company brought goods, did not consult with me about the endorsement deal."

Bashar, who leads Bangladesh in the first of five ODIs against Zimbabwe tomorrow, was quizzed by reporters in Harare. "What I can say is that it's a very lucrative deal and it would mean a lot to Bangladeshi cricketers," he explained, adding that the deal was effective from the opening ODI.

It has also been claimed that Faruque Ahmed, the head of the selection panel, was paid in return for helping Ashraful sign to play for Rainhill CC in England. "The allegation raised against us is serious, but totally baseless and we denied the allegation," he said in a written statement. "We protest the allegation that brought down our social position, honour and status in society."