Days after bowling three no balls during Fortune Barishal's Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2024 match against Khulna Tigers, Shoaib Malik's contract with the franchise has reportedly been terminated. (More Cricket News)
"Fortune Barisal has terminated the contract of Shoaib Malik on the suspicion of "fixing" match. During a recent match, Malik, who is a spinner, bowled three no-balls in one over. Mizanur Rahman, the team owner of Fortune Barishal, has confirmed the news," Syed Sami, a Bangladeshi journalist shared on Friday.
Malik's bowling performance against the Tigers at Dhaka's Shere Bangla National Stadium on Sunday sparked outrage. The Sialkot-born all-rounder delivered a nine-ball over, the fourth over of the Tigers innings, with three no balls. He conceded 18 runs and didn't get another over.
Reports in Bangladeshi media claimed that the former Pakistan captain's contract was terminated for two reasons -- disciplinary issues and concerns over those no-balls. Malik was supposed to be available till February 10 before leaving for the Pakistan Super League to represent Karachi Kings, which is scheduled to start on February 17.
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Malik, who recently got married to Pakistani actor Sana Javed after separation from Indian tennis player Sania Mirza, had requested a leave of absence to spend time with his new partner. He was supposed to fly to Dubai and return before the Sylhet leg of the BPL, reports claimed. But the former Pakistan captain informed the team about his inability to rejoin on time for Saturday's match against Chattogram Challengers.
The BPL resumed on Friday with a doubleheader in Sylhet -- Khulna Tigers vs Rangpur Riders (2:00 PM local time) and Sylhet Strikers vs Comilla Victorians (07:00 PM local).
The Tamim Iqbal-led Fortune Barishal are currently sixth in the seven-team points table with one win in three outings. In their first match, they defeated Rangpur Riders by five wickets but lost the next two against Khulna Tigers and Comilla Victorians by eight and four wickets, respectively.
