Hours after a report carried by Bangladeshi media suggested that Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik's contract was terminated by his Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchise Fortune Barishal owing to match-fixing allegations, the franchise owner has shared a video message to refute the claims. Miznaur Rahman, who owns the franchise, insisted that they should instead focus on winning their forthcoming matches than create a 'ruckus' about the situation.
"I deeply regret the rumour regarding Shoaib Malik. He is a great player. He gave us his best. So we should not make a ruckus about it. We lost two consecutive matches so we should focus on the upcoming matches and hopefully, we will turn around. Thank you for being around Fortune Barishal," Fortune Barishal owner Mizanur Rahman said in a video message shared by the franchise on its verified Facebook page.
Take a look at the video here:
Shoaib Malik Heads To Dubai Citing Personal Reason
The clairification from the franchise owner makes it clear that Malik has headed to Dubai due to personal reasons. For the unversed, Malik overstepped three times in an over during the team's match against Khulna Tigers on Monday (January 22). He went on to concede 18 runs in that over, overstepping on all the three occasions. Malik featured in another game for Barishal on January 23 before his involvement in the Dhaka leg of the tournament came to an end. However, Malik will not play any further part in the tournament and the franchise has announced Ahmed Shehzad as his replacement for the remainder of the season.
Malik donned the Fortune Barishal colours thrice in BPL 2024 during which he scored 29 runs while also managing to scalp a wicket. He might have gone for 18 in an over but did play a crucial role in their team winning a low-scoring contest against Rangpur Riders on January 20.