Bangladesh Cricket Board clears NCL match of fixing allegations

Match- fixing allegations marred the National Cricket League of Bangladesh

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has cleared the match between Dhaka Metropolis and Rangpur Division in the National Cricket League (NCL) of match-fixing allegations reported ESPNCricinfo. Tournament chairman Akram Khan said that the allegations made by Khulna Division could not be proved beyond doubt.

"BCB's anti-corruption unit couldn't ascertain match-fixing in the Dhaka Metro-Rangpur match," Akram said. "I have been told this verbally. We will issue letters to this effect in a day or two."

Khulna, Rangpur and Dhaka Division were all tied on 96 points heading into NCL's final round of matches in March this year. Khulna completed an innings-and-24-run win over Chittagong Division on the third day itself which helped them move to 120 points. meaning Rangpur needed 25 points to move ahead of Khulna.

Requiring to bowl out their opposition Dhaka Metropolis on the fourth and final day, Rangpur achieved it by bowling out them in the 80^th over having set Dhaka a target of 361. The match-fixing allegation was raised by Khulna captain Abdur Razzak who posted a status on his official Facebook account alleging irregularities in the NCL while the match was still going on, though he didn’t specify any team or player.

Though the post was later taken down, the BCB formed a committee to look into the matter headed by the board's new anti-corruption head Abu Mohammad Humayun Morshed. A telephonic conversation between a Khulna official and the Dhaka Metropolis coach was submitted to the committee, but the evidence was substantial and couldn’t be connected to the match which was under scrutiny and the allegations were not proven.

Akram Khan hopes these allegations can be put aside for now as another edition of the NCL is set to begin, "The audio clip couldn't really prove anything linked to the match. The match referee's report also didn't mention anything suspicious," he said. "I shouldn't make a comment about the investigation's outcome. I am pleased that we can put this issue to bed now that another National Cricket League is ahead of us."

#Cricket NCL match cleared of match-fixing allegations: The BCB's anti-corruption unit could not find anything... http://t.co/Cd8nAb5JGt

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