Mohammad Ashraful says he wanted to commit suicide as his fixing scandal revealed

Bangladeshi cricketer Mohammad Ashraful has talked about fixing scandal and news he had experienced in his career.

Ashraful opened up about his emotions in an interview. In the interview, the former captain thanked his friends and family for supporting him in fixing days.

Mohammad Ashraful, 35, said in the interview, “I wanted to commit suicide when the news was broken by Kaler Kantho [leading Bengali daily] and it occurred few more times.”

He also said that his brother-in-law would motivate him by giving an example of Indian cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin.

“I shared these thoughts with my brother-in-law [Mojibul Alam] and he did the right thing by ridiculing me. He told me that even a great player like Azharuddin has gone through such hardships. The public and the fans will be upset, but I would have to soldier through it.”

He added, “Then the CEO of BCB, Sujon Bhai came to my house to console me. He said that time will change me.”

“My close friend Ashiq, Arif, Tauhid, Jitu, Joy mama used to stay with me till 10-11 pm. I couldn’t sleep at that time and that was the toughest time. When I would wake up, I would find my friend beside me again.”
Ashraful had played 61 Tests and 177 ODIs for Bangladesh. However, he was guilty of fixing, so he decided to confess to the anti-corruption unit.

“I always used to think how can I survive in such a situation, how do I show my face in public, what should I tell my family, what will happen to them, how will I cover up the social stigma which will be inflicted upon me and my family,”

He had said that he could save himself by telling a lie, but his conscience did not allow it.

“When I first met ACSU on that day, I decided that I wouldn’t lie. I had made up my mind to tell them everything knowing the consequences.”

He continued, ”We see many news where players after retire were found to be involved in these kinds of cases. If I haven’t agreed then nothing would have happened,”

“I knew people were leering at me in a different way, and a lot of my close friends had started to distance themselves from me. That much was evident.”