<p>The International Cricket Council is probing allegations of match-fixing in Bangladeshi cricket with former national captain Mohammad Ashraful among those being questioned, local officials said today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>ICC anti-corruption inspectors were investigating allegations of wrongdoing during a match in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), a spokesman for the Bangladesh Cricket Board said.<br /><br />"The allegations involve a match between Dhaka Gladiators and Chittagong Kings in the second edition of the BPL," spokesman Jalal Yunus told AFP. Local media reported that 28-year-old Gladiators star Ashraful was allegedly paid about one million taka (USD12,800) to lose the February 2 match, but the cheque he was given later bounced.<br /><br />The big-hitting batsman was also allegedly involved in fixing another match 10 days later, against the Barisal Burners, which his team lost by seven wickets, the reports by English-language daily New Age and several Bengali newspapers said.<br /><br />Spokesman Yunus refused to confirm whether Ashraful was under investigation, but a BCB source told AFP that the batsman was among those being interviewed.<br /><br />Ashraful, who captained Bangladesh between 2007 and 2009, could not be reached for comment. The owner of the club, Salim Chowdhury, has strongly denied any wrongdoing.<br /><br />Officials from the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) were expected to submit a report on their investigation to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) "very shortly", Yunus said.<br /><br />"After receiving the report from ACSU we'll act in line with the BCB's anti-corruption code of conduct," he said.<br /><br />The BCB hired the ICC officials at a cost of 20 million taka (USD 255,000) to monitor the second edition of the BPL that concluded in February, Ismail Haider Mallick, the BPL secretary and a BCB official, told AFP. The ICC could not be reached immediately for comment.<br /><br />The allegations are the latest to hit Bangladeshi cricket including the BPL, which was launched in 2012 in emulation of neighbouring India's lucrative Twenty20 tournament.<br />Indian cricket is embroiled in its own scandal involving alleged betting and spot-fixing during the just-finished Indian Premier League season, with the arrest this month of three players and scores of bookmakers.<br />The probe in Bangladesh comes after the BCB banned indefinitely ex-international spinner Shariful Haque in September after an inquiry found him guilty of spot-fixing during the first edition of the BPL.<br />A Pakistani national was also arrested on separate spot-fixing charges last year.<br />In March the BCB banned international umpire Nadir Shah for 10 years after a sting operation by an Indian TV channel found him apparently willing to fix matches for cash.</p>
<p>The International Cricket Council is probing allegations of match-fixing in Bangladeshi cricket with former national captain Mohammad Ashraful among those being questioned, local officials said today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>ICC anti-corruption inspectors were investigating allegations of wrongdoing during a match in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), a spokesman for the Bangladesh Cricket Board said.<br /><br />"The allegations involve a match between Dhaka Gladiators and Chittagong Kings in the second edition of the BPL," spokesman Jalal Yunus told AFP. Local media reported that 28-year-old Gladiators star Ashraful was allegedly paid about one million taka (USD12,800) to lose the February 2 match, but the cheque he was given later bounced.<br /><br />The big-hitting batsman was also allegedly involved in fixing another match 10 days later, against the Barisal Burners, which his team lost by seven wickets, the reports by English-language daily New Age and several Bengali newspapers said.<br /><br />Spokesman Yunus refused to confirm whether Ashraful was under investigation, but a BCB source told AFP that the batsman was among those being interviewed.<br /><br />Ashraful, who captained Bangladesh between 2007 and 2009, could not be reached for comment. The owner of the club, Salim Chowdhury, has strongly denied any wrongdoing.<br /><br />Officials from the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) were expected to submit a report on their investigation to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) "very shortly", Yunus said.<br /><br />"After receiving the report from ACSU we'll act in line with the BCB's anti-corruption code of conduct," he said.<br /><br />The BCB hired the ICC officials at a cost of 20 million taka (USD 255,000) to monitor the second edition of the BPL that concluded in February, Ismail Haider Mallick, the BPL secretary and a BCB official, told AFP. The ICC could not be reached immediately for comment.<br /><br />The allegations are the latest to hit Bangladeshi cricket including the BPL, which was launched in 2012 in emulation of neighbouring India's lucrative Twenty20 tournament.<br />Indian cricket is embroiled in its own scandal involving alleged betting and spot-fixing during the just-finished Indian Premier League season, with the arrest this month of three players and scores of bookmakers.<br />The probe in Bangladesh comes after the BCB banned indefinitely ex-international spinner Shariful Haque in September after an inquiry found him guilty of spot-fixing during the first edition of the BPL.<br />A Pakistani national was also arrested on separate spot-fixing charges last year.<br />In March the BCB banned international umpire Nadir Shah for 10 years after a sting operation by an Indian TV channel found him apparently willing to fix matches for cash.</p>