Dhaka: Former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan has raised $24,000 for the country’s coronavirus campaign.
Noble gesture
Shakib Al Hassan has auctioned the bat he used at the 2019 World Cup. Shakib emerged as one of the highest run-getters in the World Cup with 606 runs. He is currently serving a ban for failing to report a match-fixing attempt.
The winning bidder at the online auction Wednesday was a New York-based Bangladeshi, said Arif R. Hossain. He is the co-founder of an organisation established to raise funds for charity. “It was our first initiative. We are really happy by the response,” Hossain told this agency.
Shakib, a very good all-rounder was banned in October 2019 for two years. He failed to report after being approached by a match-fixing syndicate. With one year of his ban suspended, he is due to resume international cricket in October 2020.
Hussain said the money raised would be given to a foundation started by Shakib, but gave no other details.
Controversy at crab farm co-owned by Shakib
The auction came two days after a demonstration at Shakib’s crab farm. More than 140 workers staged a protest stating they were not getting their salaries.
Defying a nationwide virus lockdown, the workers chanted slogans before being dispersed, police told this agency.
Shakib said he was not involved in the day-to-day operations of the farm but would take action. “My co-owners and working partners failed to inform me properly of what was going on over the last few months,” Shakib said in a statement. He informed that he paid the employees some 1.9 million taka ($23,000), Wednesday.
Coronavirus tally in Bangladesh
Bangladesh has officially reported 4,186 coronavirus infections and 127 deaths. However, low testing rates have led health experts to believe the real figures are far higher.
AFP