Former Bangladesh cricketer Mohammad Ashraful has said that the ban imposed on all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan by the International Cricket Council (ICC) is going to be a shock to the system.
Ashraful also had to suffer a five-year ban for match-fixing (two years suspended) and he has the experience of dealing with such situations.
"Our cases are different; he didn't inform the fixing approaches to authorities, while I was fully involved in match-fixing. But this is going to be a shock to the system. We love playing cricket. What Shakib is going through is hard to explain in words. I think there shouldn't be too much news about him. Dealing with so much news was hard for me," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Ashraful as saying.
Ashraful admitted that he used to sleep all day when he was banned untill he found a new calling.
"I slept through the first six months. I used to watch TV all night, and then wake up at around 2 pm in the afternoon. I then performed Hajj, which gave me a new perspective," Ashraful said.
"I always wondered whether I would be able to play again, mainly because of my age. The cricket board is helping Shakib. I got support but it wasn't what Shakib will get. Also, we must remember that players like Mashrafe Mortaza, who was often injured, and Shakib have always made extraordinary comebacks," he added.
Shakib was banned from all forms of cricket on Tuesday after he accepted the charges of breaching the ICC's Anti Corruption Code. The all-rounder also admitted to the charges and agreed to the sanction with the ICC in lieu of an Anti-Corruption Tribunal hearing.
Shakib will be able to resume international cricket from October 29, 2020, however, it is subject to him satisfying the conditions of the sanction.
"I had the belief that no Bangladeshi cricketer would get into this kind of trouble after me. We have very different cases, but still, the punishment is to stay away from cricket. I felt bad. Shakib is the number one allrounder in the world. He is our best player. He plays franchise leagues. When I say Shakib made his mistake, I think he didn't take it (reporting approaches) too seriously," Ashraful said.
"What also happens now is that everyone will be alert with these approaches. What to do when there's an approach. Nobody should make this mistake. We could never imagine that Shakib would make this mistake," he added.
Shakib also decided to step down from the Marylebone Cricket Club's Cricket Committee after getting banned for two years.
"We are sorry to lose Shakib from the committee, where he has made a great contribution over the last couple of years. As guardians of the spirit of cricket we support his resignation and believe this was the right decision," Mike Gatting, Chairman of the World Cricket committee said.
Shakib had joined the committee in October 2017, and he subsequently attended meetings in both Sydney and Bengaluru.
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