Shakib confirms he ended ties to betting website after BCB outrage

His written confirmation arrives soon after the board president warned him

Bangladesh Test skipper Shakib Al Hasan has confirmed Bangladesh Cricket Board in writing that he cancelled the contract with betting website BetWinner News soon after BCB President Nazmul Hassan warned him.

Jalal Yunus, BCB's cricket operations chief, on Thursday evening said: “He informed us about an hour ago. The board president sought a written response and Shakib complied. He’s cancelled his contract and promised to remove the Facebook post.

Shakib’s Facebook post announcing his partnership with BetWinner News was still there during the writing of this report.

However, Shakib is still responsible for breaching BCB’s code of conduct, Yunus added.

“This was raised in our meeting today. He breached the board’s condition and did not let us know of his sponsorship agreement. But we were only concerned about cancelling his contract for now. We’ll discuss whether he’ll face actions for breaking the rules later.”

Earlier in the day, Hassan warned Shakib Al Hasan that if he did not cancel his contract with BetWinner, it would spell the end of his ties to cricket.

Hassan said the matter was “not up for discussion”.

On Aug 2, Shakib promoted BetWinner News on his official Facebook page along with a photo of him sporting the company’s jersey. The post read, “I am proud of the official partnership with BetWinner News.”

The board then issued a show-cause notice and waited for his response until Thursday, causing a delay in the announcement of the Asia Cup squad. The deadline to announce the squad was on Aug 8. Nazmul said the squad will be announced on Friday or Saturday.

According to BCB’s code of conduct, cricketers must acknowledge the board of any sponsorship agreements while these must exclude engagement with tobacco, alcohol and betting agencies.