Shakib made a mistake: Jalal Yunus

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) thinks that Shakib Al Hasan made a mistake by aligning himself with Betwinner News and the board is trying to resolve the issue, said its cricket operations chairman Jalal Yunus, reports news agency BSS.

Yunus, who has been in talks with Shakib since the issue came to the light, thinks it was a mistake from Shakib’s end and hopes the problem will get resolved soon.

“He (Shakib) was informed that we do not accept it… No one wants to get involved in such controversial issues. Knowingly or unknowingly, some mistakes have been made [from his part]. We are trying to resolve it, hopefully it will be resolved,” Younus told the media on Monday.

Shakib himself announced his partnership with Betwinner News on his official Facebook page, writing, “Dear fans! I am proud to announce my new official partnership with BETWINNER NEWS!

“BETWINNER NEWS is one and only source of sports news! If you want to be always in trend and find the most important match analysis and sports highlights, then BETWINNER NEWS is for you! Search for BETWINNER NEWS on the Internet!”

After his Facebook post created a huge uproar, BCB president Nazmul Hassan said they would take stern action against the ace all-rounder if he is found guilty of being involved with a betting company, which is completely banned as per BCB and Bangladesh law.

The news was broken at a time when BCB was mulling Shakib as the next T20 captain, replacing Mahmudullah.

However, due to the captaincy issue, the BCB sought a three-day extension from the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) to name the squad for the Asia Cup. The original deadline for announcing the Asia Cup team was on Monday, but it has been extended by two days after BCB’s appeal.

“There has been an issue. We are in touch with him about it. As this is a sensitive issue, we need to address it. We are talking to him to solve the problem. You will get to know within a couple of days,” Yonus said.

“In any case, we will certainly show zero tolerance in such betting issues… We are trying to resolve this situation as soon as possible.”