Bangladesh Cricket Board seems unable to get rid of betting scandals, as after all the saga regarding Shakib Al Hasan and Betwinner, the board itself is now set to play a series against the host United Arab Emirates that involves a surrogate betting brand, Skyexch.

Skyexch [Skyexchange] is an India-based surrogate sports gambling website that also operates in the UAE, and now it will be the title sponsor of the forthcoming two-match ‘Skyexch Friendship T20 Series’ between the host UAE and Bangladesh, scheduled to start on September 25.

All forms of gambling are completely prohibited under UAE law, while sports betting and even gambling-related advertising are fraught with controversy.

However, Subhan Ahmed, an advisor to the Emirates Cricket Board and the former chief operating officer of the Pakistan Cricket Board, believes that the existing Arab law will not detract from the glory of the upcoming series because the host board has no deal with their betting activity.

‘Yes, you are right. Skyexch is a surrogate sports-betting brand. However, they are also a news portal, which made us opt for them as the title sponsor of this series,’ Subhan told New Age through WhatsApp.

‘We just know what good things they are doing. They may also have other businesses, but we don’t have a deal with those,’ Subhan added. 

The ECB advisor cited ‘Black and White’, an alcohol brand, as an example and claimed that it had been used as a sponsor in the recently concluded Asia Cup despite alcohol being banned in the UAE. He didn’t see any reason why Skyexch couldn’t follow this precedent. 

‘Black and White is an alcohol brand which is also prohibited in the UAE, but that has been used as a sponsor in the Asia Cup.’ 

Meanwhile, BCB chief executive officer Nizamuddin Chowdhury said they were unaware that Skyexch was a surrogate betting website. 

‘We were not aware of Skyexch being a betting company. Moreover, ECB is the host of this series, so we can’t stop them as the visitors. However, if we had known earlier, we might have taken an initiative regarding this. It is too late now.› 

Earlier in August, Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan underwent a severe backlash regarding his contract with Betwinner that delayed the BCB from announcing Bangladesh’s Asia Cup squad. However, he eventually terminated the deal after an ultimatum posed by the board. 

The Bangladesh national team left for the UAE on Thursday afternoon to participate in the series.