BCB withdraws Al-Amin from WC

A well-tuned Bangladesh team that arrived in Melbourne yesterday from Brisbane to play their third group match in the ICC World Cup against Sri Lanka were served with a notice that one of the members of the team would have to take a long flight back home for breaking the team rules.

The player in question is pace bowler Al-Amin Hossain, whom the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) decided to withdraw for staying outside the Brisbane team hotel after 10pm local time on February 19.

“Al-Amin stayed outside the hotel in Brisbane after the 10pm deadline on February 19 without the team management's permission. BCB always shows zero tolerance against any indiscipline from players and that's why he will go back home as soon as possible,” said team manager Khaled Mahmud, while confirming Al-Amin's World Cup fate on Sunday.

Mahmud also said that they have already requested the ICC for a replacement, who is likely to be another pacer, Shafiul Islam.

Asked how the team management knew about Al-Amin's night-endeavour, Mahmud said that the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU) informed them of the matter.

Al-Amin has played 11 ODIs for Bangladesh since his debut last year. The 25-year-old has not featured in Bangladesh's opening World Cup match against Afghanistan and was also not in the probable list of 11 for the game against Australia which was washed out.

And if the ICC approves his replacement, Al-Amin will be the first player in this World Cup and probably the second in the game's flagship event to be removed for non-cricketing reasons after Australian great Shane Warne, who was sent back home a day before the start of the World Cup in 2003 after failing a drug test.

However, Al-Amin is not the first player to have broken the team curfew in this World Cup. Earlier, nine Pakistani players including Shaheed Afridi were warned by their team management for staying out long into the night.

WHAT OTHER SOURCES SAID

While a general perception is that this kind of offence deserves financial punishment coupled with match-ban, the stern measure, according to a source close to the Bangladesh team management, was not just because of the pacer's decision to stay out late at night.

It was learnt the activities revolving Al-Amin for the last few days in Australia and New Zealand were 'interesting'.

The source, wishing not to be named, confirmed that ACSU first told the Bangladesh team management in Canberra that they wanted to quiz a player. The team management were surprised to learn that they wanted to question Al-Amin.

It was also gathered that ACSU officials asked the bowler whether he met someone in Chennai, when he went through a bowling test at an ICC accredited centre on October 20 last year.

They showed him a photograph of that person and Al-Amin recognised that person by saying that the man had a long beard and long hair back then. Al-Amin informed that the man told him he was a fan.  The man also wanted his phone number and facebook ID, which the bowler didn't provide.

The source also informed that Al-Amin, upon asking, denied getting any match or spot-fixing approach from that man.

According to the source, ACSU kept their eyes on the bowler and followed him when he went out on February 19 after 10pm and then someone dropped him after 12pm. ACSU then asked the team management whether they have any team rules for the players.

Before that incident some BCB high-ups including president Nazmul Hassan Papon reportedly discussed the ACSU quizzing, where the BCB boss was of the opinion that it was  better to send Al-Amin home to dispel any doubts.

However, The Daily Star could not verify the ACSU's apparent quizzing from the BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury, who said that the board's press release would be their only statement. Besides that, Mahmud also refused to make any comment with regards to the issue.