Former Bangladesh cricket captain Mohammad Ashraful on Tuesday admitted match-fixing and apologised for the latest damaging scandal to hit the sport. "I should have not done this injustice to the nation. I feel guilty," he told the Independent TV channel in a televised interview. "I would only say 'Please all forgive me, my conduct was improper'," he added.
His apology came shortly after the Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan announced the right-handed batsman had been suspended pending the full report of an investigation by the International Cricket Council. The ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) has been probing allegations of match-fixing during the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), a Twenty20 competition.
"I felt that I have done an injustice, so I have told them (the ACSU team) the truth at the first chance. I tried to help the ICC as much as I could for the welfare of our cricket," Ashraful said. "You all know me, I have been playing international cricket for 12 years. I did not tell them a single lie," he added. Ashraful became the country's youngest Test centurion in 2001 at the age of 17 and captained Bangladesh between 2007 and 2009. The alleged fixing involves a match between the Dhaka Gladiators and the Chittagong Kings teams during the second edition of the BPL. Local media have reported that 28-year-old Gladiators star Ashraful was allegedly paid about one million taka ($12,800) to lose the February 2 match.
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