Thanking fans, the media, players and everyone who supported him, Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan said he wants to “return to cricket stronger”.
He made the remarks at a media call at the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) headquarters on Tuesday (Oct 29) after the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned him for two years from all cricket for breaching of its anti-corruption code.
Flanked by BCB President Nazmul Hasan, Shakib read out the statement he made to the ICC before thanking everyone who supported him and expressing his desire to come back.
Speaking at the media call, the BCB boss said they stand beside Shakib.
“We are shocked.
“I have said time and again that we have no alternative for two players – Mashrafe [Mortoza] and Shakib,” said Hasan.
The Bangladesh team has hit a snag as Shakib is missing the India tour, he said before adding: “It’s the first time we will be playing a full series in India and Shakib was an integral part of our strategies.”
Despite being “annoyed” with Shakib over not reporting to the ICC about the match-fixing approaches, the BCB chief lauded him for accepting the charges and “fully cooperating” with the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU).
BCB President Hasan said that he was not aware of the fact that the ACU interviewed Shakib. “It was Shakib who told me about it two or three days ago after the strike.”
Shakib recently led a strike by Bangladesh's cricketers, which they called off a week ago when the board accepted most of their demands, including pay rises and other benefits.
In the ICC media release announcing the two-year ban, Shakib said that he was “extremely sad”.
The Bangladesh Test and Twenty20 skipper said he is all for a corruption-free sport and is looking forward to working with the International Cricket Council to support its efforts against corruption.
“I am obviously extremely sad to have been banned from the game I love, but I completely accept my sanction for not reporting the approaches,” the ICC quoted him as saying in a media release announcing the ban.
The two-year ban includes one year of suspension and he would be free to resume international cricket on Oct 29 next year “subject to him satisfying the conditions in respect of the suspended part of the sanction”, the international cricket governing body. 
The ICC said he failed to report “corrupt approaches on numerous occasions”, which is a breach of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code. It confirmed four such instances.
Shakib acknowledged his failure and said, “The ICC ACU is reliant on players to play a central part in the fight against corruption and I didn’t do my duty in this instance.”
“Like the majority of players and fans around the world, I want cricket to be a corruption-free sport and I am looking forward to working with the ICC ACU team to support their education programme and ensure young players don’t make the same mistake I did,” he added.
The 32-year-old was found to have failed to report two approaches he received during a tri-series between Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in January 2018, and one related to a 2018 Indian Premier League match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab.
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