Corruption claim deepens Bangladesh cricket crisis after strike

A former Bangladesh cricket chief said on Tuesday that match fixing was widespread in the country, deepening a crisis sparked by a strike by top players over wages.

Former Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Saber Hossain Chowdhury, a British-educated lawyer, businessman and now member of parliament, said corruption was deep-rooted at the governing body.

"@BCBtigers is only national sporting body in the world that promotes institutionalised #matchfixing, #corruption," he said on his Twitter account, adding: "Unbelievable!!"

"Flagged this issue many times myself," he said.

National captain Shakib Al Hasan raised concerns about corruption in domestic cricket on Monday when announcing that most of the country's professional players had started a strike to press for better pay and benefits.

The stoppage threatens a Bangladesh tour of India next month.

"We all know the sorry state of our first, second and third division cricket," Shakib said.

"A lot of the times we know which team will win and which team will lose before the match starts.

The strike comes amid growing criticism of the BCB from cricketers who say the governing body is not sharing enough of its growing wealth.

Local cricketers want Bangladesh players and coaches to be paid more in line with foreign hires.

They have demanded a 50 per cent pay hike for first-class players, the expansion of national pay contracts, increased match fees in domestic games and better benefits for support staff.