Bangladesh spinner gets five-year ban from ICC for £13,000 hit-wicket World Cup offer

Bangladesh spinner Shohely Akhter has been banned for five years after offering a fellow player £13,000 ($16,465) to be dismissed hit wicket during a World Cup match.

Akhter, 36, admitted to five breaches of the the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) anti-corruption code for the offence during the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup.

Akhter, who has played two one-day internationals and 13 T20 matches for Bangladesh, was not part of their squad for the tournament and made the approach to a colleague in a series of voice notes on Facebook.

The unnamed player was asked to hit their own stumps when batting in the Tigresses’ eight-wicket defeat to Australia on 14 February 2023, but instead the player reported Akhter to the ICC’s anti-corruption unit.

The ICC said Akhter’s admission of guilt meant “there was no need for a formal disciplinary process or hearing to be undertaken” in the case and that “ineligibility of five years is reasonable and proportionate”.

Akhter, who has not played for Bangladesh since 2022, will be unable to play, coach, officiate or otherwise participate in matches sanctioned by the ICC or any other national cricket association for the duration of her ban.