Amid the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa, the Bangladeshi camp has been rocked with jarring allegations of spot-fixing. One of the Tigresses’ cricketers was accused of attempting to lure her teammate into fixing, although the former has denied such allegations.
What are the accusations?
A Bangladeshi broadcaster, Jamuna TV released a voice recording of a conversation between two Bangladeshi cricketers – Shohely Akhter and Lata Mondal.
Akhter, a 34-year-old off-spinner who is currently in Bangladesh, was allegedly caught trying to get Mondal, the 30-year-old all-rounder who is with the team in South Africa, into fixing.
Mondal, however, denied the offer, saying “I am not involved in these things, I won’t be able to do it. Please do not request me to get into these things.” Following this, the cricketer also informed ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) about the incident.
Shohely Akhter Offers Explanation
Akhter, however, offered an explanation after the allegations were made. Speaking to Cricbuzz, she claimed that a Facebook friend named Akash had told her that the Bangladeshi players must be involved in spot-fixing, owing to their poor performances in recent matches.
She refuted the claim, and her conversation with Mondal was an attempt to corroborate her stance and prove her teammates would never engage in spot-fixing.
“We (Akhter and Akash) had lots of heated arguments and at one point I got excited. I told him no matter how much you offer, no one will accept it. Later I told him that if you want any proof I can give that. 'Let me ask one player and she will deny it immediately. Do you want to see that?' and that was my biggest mistake - getting into an argument with him and proceeding in that manner,” she said.
“I just wanted to prove that and Lata informed the ACSU. Firstly, I made a mistake by doing it and now it turned out to be a complicated affair after Lata informed ACSU. It seems like I have approached her for fixing,” the player further clarified.
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