Asif Mahmud hits back at ACC complaint tied to Shakib
Published: 28 February 2026, 1:26:04
Former Youth and Sports Advisor Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan on Friday dismissed recent corruption allegations against senior all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan as “ridiculous” and clarified his stance.
“As far as I know, there is no case; some allegations have been made to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Today (on Friday), I also saw in the media that some fans of a cricketer went to the ACC and staged a demonstration to submit complaints there,” the former adviser said.
He recalled his previous decision during his tenure in interim government, stating that Shakib “has no moral right to wear the Bangladesh jersey and carry the Bangladesh flag because of his stance against the July popular uprising and for endorsing Sheikh Hasina.”
“If that is considered corruption, if preventing someone from playing counts as corruption, then I have no problem being punished for it. But honestly, these matters are becoming very ridiculous,” he added.
The spokesperson for National Citizen Party also expressed concern over the media coverage and public demonstrations, noting, “Because Shakib was not allowed to play, his fans went and filed a corruption allegation worth Tk1,000 crore, and yesterday (on Thursday) the media conducted, more or less, a kind of media trial over it. No one mentioned the reason for the allegation or who filed it. It came out in the media today, which is very unfortunate.”
The former adviser stressed that anyone has the right to submit complaints in a democratic country, but raised doubts about the motives behind the staged demonstration.
“I have the impression that there is some provocation or instigation behind this. If someone genuinely has a clear complaint, I think they can make it. If anyone wants to know anything from me, I am fully prepared to state it openly; there is nothing confidential, and I am ready to clarify and cooperate,” Asif concluded.
