Bangladesh bowler faces World Cup axe over court case

Friday, 9 January 2015 02:09 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

DHAKA (Reuters): Bangladesh paceman Rubel Hossain’s participation at the World Cup is in doubt after a Dhaka court denied him bail on Thursday in a case filed by an actress claiming the cricketer had failed to carry out his promise of marriage. Rubel was granted four weeks of anticipatory bail in the case last month after the actress filed the complaint with police, alleging the bowler had been in a relationship with her, which included intimacy.

The 25-year-old, who is part of Bangladesh’s 15-man squad for the 14 February- 29 March World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, surrendered before the court on Thursday but his bail petition was rejected. “He has been sent to prison pending the next hearing of the case,” Dhaka police deputy commissioner Anisur Rahman told Reuters, although the date of that hearing has yet to be set. Rubel has played 22 tests and 53 one-day internationals for Bangladesh but his participation in the World Cup has been put in serious doubt. “If he is found guilty, he will definitely be excluded from the World Cup squad,” Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan told Reuters. “We are taking this issue very seriously. We will make our final decision within a week.”