Bangladesh Cricket Board’s newly appointed anti-corruption consultant Alex Marshall said on Tuesday that he wants to design an integrity unit to protect and restore faith in cricket in Bangladesh among the fans.

After a meeting with the cricket board president Aminul Islam Bulbul and the directors at Shonargaon Hotel, Marshall addressed the media where he shared his vision for safeguarding Bangladesh cricket.
“The reason I’m here is to work with the President and the Board to design an integrity unit which protects the sport from all the different threats,” he said.

“Bangladesh cricket has been at the top table of cricket for a quarter of a century now and this is the right moment to make sure that whatever event is being watched, the fans believe in the sport they are seeing on the field, and the players — the women and the men who play for Bangladesh — are correctly protected from all the threats out there,” he added.

Marshall, who previously served as the General Manager of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit, joined the BCB on a one-year consultancy deal earlier this month.

He also admitted that the biggest threat in cricket is coming from corruptors. “So there’s the threat of doping and all sports have to comply with the world rules on doping,” he said.

“There’s always a risk of safeguarding, which is the risk of people suffering abuse, but the biggest threat in cricket is from corruptors all over the world looking for an opportunity to find a player who they can bribe to underperform. We will make sure that the Bangladesh players, the women and the men who play for the country, are properly protected. I met today with the President and the CEO and some of the Board members. They are incredibly supportive of making sure that the sport is protected,” he added.

Marshall was firm on chasing down the corruptors and ensuring the game of cricket in Bangladesh is protected. “So we will design an integrity unit and the aim of that is to make sure everyone is educated, they understand what the threat looks like and what they need to look out for, that the team itself has the security and the protection around them, and that we make sure the corruptors are chased away,” he said.

“We don’t want them in Bangladesh; they can be chased out of the country. The integrity unit will send a strong message that this sport will be clean in Bangladesh, and the Board and the President are supporting that vision,” he added.