Noakhali Express officials, players summoned by BCB ACU

Several members of Noakhali Express’ management and playing staff were summoned by the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) following their Bashundhara Cement Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) match against Dhaka Capitals on 7 January at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, an eyewitness confirmed to Daily Sun.

The source said as many as nine individuals - including players and members of the coaching staff - were asked to report to the ACU room at the stadium after the match.

“I saw players and members of the coaching staff being asked to go to the ACU room at the ground,” the source said.

The development adds to a series of issues surrounding the Desh Travels-owned franchise, which is yet to register a win this season, having lost all six of their matches so far.

Earlier in the tournament, the team had already come under scrutiny after their operations manager, Imran Hasan, was asked to step away from franchise activities from 17 December.

Imran was also publicly accused by head coach Khaled Mahmud Sujon of mismanagement on the eve of the league.

The situation drew further attention when both Sujon and bowling coach Talha Jubair left the Sylhet stadium before the team’s first scheduled practice session, citing the unavailability of cricket balls. Both coaches eventually returned and supervised training later that day.

Noakhali Express were also in the spotlight after questions were raised over the nationality status of assistant coach Niaz Al Islam, prompting further internal review.

BCB has repeatedly and publicly maintained a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption in all forms, covering both domestic competitions such as the BPL and the Dhaka Premier League (DPL), as well as international cricket.

As part of its efforts to strengthen governance and oversight, the board has reinforced its integrity framework in recent years. It initially appointed former International Cricket Council (ICC) head of the global Anti-Corruption Unit Alex Marshall as a consultant for a year to oversee the operations of the board’s own ACU.

Marshall was later appointed head of the BCB Integrity Unit - formerly known as the Anti-Corruption Unit - further underlining the board’s commitment to safeguarding the integrity of the game.