NEW DELHI: Bangladesh’s Shohely Akhter made history for the wrong reasons on Tuesday, becoming the first female cricketer to be banned by the ICC for corruption.
The 36-year-old off-spinner received a five-year suspension after being found guilty of attempting to fix matches during the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup.
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Shohely, who played two ODIs and 13 T20Is for Bangladesh, admitted to violating five provisions of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code. The charges stemmed from her attempts to corrupt matches during the tournament in South Africa, despite not being part of Bangladesh’s squad at the time.
The ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) uncovered Shohely’s involvement through conversations on Facebook Messenger, where she approached a teammate — identified as ‘Player A’ — before Bangladesh’s match against Australia on February 14, 2023.
She offered her teammate 2 million Bangladeshi Taka to get out hit wicket, claiming the money would come from her ‘cousin,’ who was involved in illegal betting.
Despite promising secrecy and urging her teammate to delete their messages, the approached player refused the offer and immediately reported the incident to the ACU, providing voice notes as evidence.
Shohely, who had deleted the messages on her end, ultimately admitted to breaching Articles 2.1.1, 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.4.4, and 2.4.7 of the ICC Code.
Her ban, effective from February 10, 2025, marks a significant moment in cricket's fight against corruption, reinforcing the importance of reporting and vigilance within the game.
