Shohely Akhter Becomes First Woman Cricketer To Be Suspended For Corruption; Faces 5-Year Ban

Bangladesh women cricketer Shohely Akhter has become the first female cricketer to be banned for charges of fixing.

Hyderabad: Bangladesh female cricketer Shohely Akhter has become the first woman cricketer to be banned for corruption and will face a 5-year ban by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Akhter has been punished for charges of match-fixing in the Women’s 2023 T20 World Cup. Akhter breached a total of five provisions of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code. Her period ineligibility commenced on February 10, 2025.

According to a report by India Today, A news outlet in Dhaka named Jamuna TV released an audio where two cricketers were allegedly having a conversation. It was reported that Lata Mondal had approached her during the Women’s T20 World Cup 2023.

Bangladesh's Shohely Akhter becomes the first female cricketer banned for corruption.

ICC handed the 36-year old player a 5 years ban as she offered 2 million taka to a teammate to get out hit wicket on Facebook Messenger in 2023 - regarding to the T20WC match against Australia.…

— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) February 12, 2025

Shohely had mentioned that she connected to a friend through social media and was involved in heated arguments with them. The 34-year-old further added that she confided in a Bangladesh teammate with all the information she had which escalated the situation further.

The Bangladeshi off-spinner has played two ODIs and 13 T20Is and picked a total of 11 international wickets which includes a four-wicket haul. She last featured for Bangladesh on October 10 at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium against Sri Lanka in an Asia Cup 2022 fixture.

Shohely breached Article (2.1.1), (2.1.3), (2.1.4), (2.4.4) and (2.4.7) through her act of fixing. The provisions include clauses related to match-fixing or deliberately giving a bad performance. It also includes influencing the result of international matches in any manner.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has appointed Sarwar Imran as head coach of the Bangladesh women's cricket team. He has also worked as head coach for the men’s team. He was the coach of the Bangladesh U-19 women’s team during the Women’s U-19 World Cup in Malaysia