Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh's greatest cricketer and the top-ranked ODI all-rounder in the world, was banned by the ICC on 29 October 2019 for failing to report multiple corrupt approaches by a bookmaker. The approaches occurred during the IPL 2018 season, when Shakib was playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, and during a tri-series involving Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe in January 2018.
The ICC revealed that an individual had approached Shakib on three separate occasions. During the IPL, the individual offered Shakib money for inside information and to manipulate aspects of matches. During the tri-series, the same individual contacted Shakib again. On each occasion, Shakib failed to report the approaches to the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit as required under the code.
Shakib received a two-year ban, with one year suspended, meaning he would serve an effective ban of one year. Crucially, the ICC emphasized that Shakib was not accused of actually fixing any match or providing information to bookmakers - his offense was the failure to report the approaches. However, the ICC noted that failure to report was a serious offense because it allowed corrupt individuals to continue operating.
The ban was a major blow to Bangladesh cricket, as Shakib was by far the team's most important player. His absence significantly weakened Bangladesh in the 2020 period. The case served as a reminder to all cricketers of their obligations under anti-corruption rules, even when they themselves had not engaged in corrupt activity.