Shahadat banned

Dhaka: Bangladesh national cricketer Shahadat Hossain was suspended from all forms of the game as police investigate allegations that he and his wife beat their 11-year-old maid.

Police are still searching for the 29-year-old paceman who went into hiding last week after claims he ‘tortured and abused’ the maid who is undergoing treatment in hospital.

“The allegations against Shahadat Hossain have tarnished our image,” Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) spokesman Jalal Yunus said. “We've therefore decided to temporarily suspend him from all sorts of cricket being organised by the BCB,” Yunus said, adding that Shahadat would only be allowed to play if cleared by the police.

He said the BCB had vocally opposed the abuse of children and women in the past, including the use of minors for labour. The suspension means Shahadat, who missed the recent series against India and South Africa after twisting his ankle in a Test match in May, cannot play in the national cricket league starting later this week.

A top performance in the league usually guarantees a place in the national team. Shahadat, who played 38 Tests and 51 one-day internationals for Bangladesh, is now all but certain to miss the two Tests against Australia next month.

Police raided the house of the pace bowler and his wife, Nritto Shahadat, who is also on the run, on the night of September 6 after officers found the injured and crying maid on a street in the capital Dhaka.

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