Revelations leave BCB with mixed emotions

BCB president Nazmul Hassan has said he was happy to see the allegations of fixing in the Bangladesh Premier League being thoroughly investigated by the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, even though the entire episode has been distressing. It was necessary to take strict and swift action, he said, given how "corruption is spreading in sport".

"I am not happy at all [about the alleged corruption in BPL]," Hassan said. "Many of our favourite players and people are involved. We trusted them and if anybody breaks the trust, it is painful. But at the same time, I am also happy that we took this initiative.

"If we didn't do anything, [at the rate at which] corruption is spreading in sport, it will be almost impossible to stop it in the future. We are happy for the ACSU to do a thorough investigation, and whatever the result, it will be a message to everyone that whoever is found guilty will not be spared."

On Tuesday, the BCB and ICC jointly announced that nine individuals have been charged with various offences allegedly committed in the BPL in violation of Bangladesh's anti-corruption code. The nine persons were not named, but the Bangladesh cricketers who are among the nine will not be able to participate in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League, the domestic one-day tournament, which is scheduled to begin on September 3.

ESPNcricinfo has learned that the BCB had wanted to name the nine individuals during the press conference but ICC chief executive officer Dave Richardson wanted to strictly adhere to the provisions of the anti-corruption code.

Explaining how the case will progress, Richardson said the hearing for the accused could still be a couple of months away. "The prosecution of the case and conduct of the hearing will be carried out on behalf of the BCB by the ICC," he said. "There will be pre-hearing procedures where the ICC will make its own submissions once we know whether the charged have pleaded guilty or not. Then the accused will be able to reply to those submissions. Then, once everyone is available - the tribunal, the witnesses and all the accused - a date will be set. We think that it is still a couple of months away."

If any of the nine individuals are from overseas, they are still liable under the BCB's anti-corruption code, Richardson said. "All those individuals who have been charged have submitted to the jurisdiction of the BCB's anti-corruption code. Obviously one is required to sign a contract with the BPL as a foreign player, by which one of the terms would be to submit yourself to the jurisdiction of the code. The same applies to support personnel, or any other person involved with the teams."

Now, the BCB, as per Article 5 of the anti-corruption code, is required to appoint a disciplinary-panel chairman. The chairman is supposed to be a retired justice of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He is required to then form a 10-member disciplinary panel, which should comprise of three retired judges, three eminent civilians and four cricket experts. Then, the chairman must form a three-member anti-corruption tribunal - which will hear the case - from among the disciplinary panel's members, with one representative from each of the panel's three groups.

Hassan said that the BCB will immediately initiate proceedings to form the disciplinary panel, though the anti-corruption code specifies that BCB directors choose only the disciplinary panel's chairman. "The tribunal will be formed immediately," Hassan said. "The [disciplinary] panel will be announced within the next two or three days. It will be a ten-member panel from which three members will form the tribunal. We are just re-confirming the panel."