The International Cricket Council (ICC) banned Bangladesh cricketer and franchise player Nasir Hossain from all cricket for two years, with six months of that suspended, after he accepted three charges of breaching the Emirates Cricket Board’s Anti-Corruption Code.
In a statement on Tuesday, the world cricket apex body said Nasir who was charged in September 2023, admitted three charges one of which was that he failed to disclose to the designated Anti-Corruption Official (without unnecessary delay) the receipt of a gift that was offered to him that had a value of over US$750 (Tk. 82, 500 only), namely the gift of a new iPhone 12.
He received the gift during the Abu Dhabi T10 cricket league in 2021. The tournament took place between 19 November, 2021- 4 December, 2021. Six teams played in the tournament.
The second charge was that he failed to disclose to the designated official of full details of the approach or invitation he received to engage in Corrupt Conduct via the new iPhone 12.
According to the third charge, he failed or refused, without compelling justification, to cooperate with the Designated Anti-Corruption Official’s investigation in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Code, including (without limitation) failing to provide accurately and complete any information and/or documentation requested by the Designated Anti-Corruption Official) as part of such investigation.
Under the provisions of the Code, Nasir has chosen to admit to the charges and has agreed to the sanction in place of an Anti-Corruption Tribunal hearing.
Subject to him satisfying the conditions in respect of the suspended part of the sanction, he will be free to resume international cricket on 7 April 2025.
Nasir, once considered as the finisher of Bangladesh, last played for the country in an International cricket in 2018. He played 19 Tests (1044 runs), 65 ODIs (1281 runs) and 31 T20 Internationals (370 runs) for the country. He had two centuries (one each in Test and ODI) under his belt.
After being discarded from the national team following his inconsistent performances, Nasir played in domestic cricket and some franchise cricket on and off but hardly could draw the attention of the selectors. Of late he came up for discussion after his below par result in yo yo test, a test that determines players fitness level.
