Bangladesh spinner Shohely Akhtar has been banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for 5 years. She was found guilty of match-fixing in the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup. Shohely became the first female cricketer to be banned for corruption. Akhtar violated ICC Articles 2.1.1, 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.4.4 and 2.4.7. Shohely admitted her offence, so she was banned for only 5 years. Her ban will start from February 10, 2025, and continue until February 2030. Shohely also instigated teammate for corruption
According to ICC, "On February 14, 2023, before the match against Australia, Shohely messaged her teammate. She sent voice notes encouraging her teammates to engage in match-fixing in Bangladesh's upcoming matches." Akhtar told her teammate that her 'cousin' places bets on his mobile. The cousin wants the player to get hit wicket against the pace bowler on the specific ball as instructed during the match against Australia. If the player agrees to fixing, they would receive 20 lakh Bangladeshi Taka. The money would come from where her cousin places the bet. Akhtar told her teammate that they could get more than 20 lakhs if they want. Both their conversations would remain secret and the player could refuse this deal if they want. Akhtar said in the voice note that she would delete the message after the conversation ends. She then deleted the message as well. Fellow player refused the deal
ICC revealed that the player with whom Shohely discussed fixing refused the deal and filed a complaint. They also sent a copy of the voice note to the ICC. While speaking to the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), Shohely admitted her offence. However, she explained that she just wanted to tell her cousin that no player from the Bangladesh team was involved in corruption. Akhtar said that she was just challenging her player. She showed screenshots claiming she was not involved in corruption. However, the review revealed that the screenshots were taken on February 14 after provoking the player. Akhtar finally admitted her mistake
ICC said that Akhtar admitted her mistake after questioning. She revealed that she had sent the screenshot messages to herself using 2 different mobile phones. Akhtar admitted that she had been in contact with bookies since 2022. She had been involved in corruption since then. Akhtar played 15 matches
36-year-old Shohely Akhtar played 2 ODIs and 13 T20s for Bangladesh. She took 11 wickets in these matches. She has 8 wickets in T20s and 3 wickets in ODIs to her name. She also scored 6 runs with the bat in ODIs.Original Article