Mohammed Shami Gets BCCI Contract, Cleared of Fixing Charges
BCCI awards ‘Grade B’ contract to Mohammed Shami.
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The Board of Control for Cricket in India has finished their investigation into Mohammed Shami following his wife’s claims that he was involved in match-fixing, saying that ‘no further actions/proceedings under the BCCI anti-corruption code are warranted in the matter’.
Following the decision, the board also revealed the central contract awarded to Shami, saying he has been slotted in the ‘B grade’ along with KL Rahul, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma and Dinesh Karthik.
Players in this category will receive Rs 3 crore a year.
On 7 March, when the BCCI has announced annul retainers for both male and female cricketers, Mohammed Shami’s name had been held back since just a few hours earlier, his wife, Hasin Jahan had publicly made allegations of adultery and domestic violence against the cricketer.
However, there has been no mention of any match-fixing charges at the time (watch full video below).
In today’s media release though, the BCCI seem to suggest they had withheld his name due to the fixing charges, which Hasin had come forward with, only a few days later.
In a formal statement, the BCCI said that “the Committee of Administrators (CoA) had requested Mr Neeraj Kumar, former Police Commissioner of Delhi and Head of BCCI Anti-Corruption Unit, to investigate the allegations against Mohd. Shami insofar as they pertain to the provisions of the BCCI Anti-Corruption Code.”
According to the release, based on the conclusions made by Neeraj Kumar that were submitted to the CoA in a ‘confidential’ file, Shami has been cleared of all charges.
The cricketer on his part said he, “knew from within that I had done nothing wrong but was still scared that I might get framed."
According to PTI though, some of the board’s senior officials had felt that the player need not have gone through this ordeal based on unsubstantiated charges.
"The CoA rather than feeling happy and chest-thumping that they have conducted investigations should feel embarrassed that based on mere allegations, he was made to look like a traitor, however short the span may be. The CoA has been left with eggs on their face," a senior official from anti-CoA faction said.
Shami’s IPL Back On Track
Shami’s IPL season too had come under cloud immediately after his wife’s claims, however IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla had clarified that he would be allowed to play if he gets a clean-chit from the ACU.
Delhi Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua was also happy with the development as Shami is an integral part of their bowling unit.
Asked how much of a relief it is for the franchise as corruption charges can also adversely affect the brand, Dua said: "When it came to corruption charges, we never had an iota of doubt that Shami is innocent. He is an honest cricketer and would have never done any such thing. We even spoke to Shami during this period. But we also have to follow the instructions of BCCI. It was only fair that the matter was investigated and he has come out clean."
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