IPL: Shami welcomed back to Daredevils squad

New Delhi : Moments after the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) asked the BCCI to include beleaguered pacer Mohammed Shami in the central contracts, Delhi Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua on Thursday welcomed the seamer back into the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise.

“Happy to be informed that @MdShami11 has been cleared by #ACU of @BCCI and can play with @DelhiDaredevils in the #VivoIPL #DilDilli,” Dua wrote on Twitter.

Shami got a major reprieve from the BCCI anti-corruption unit in the allegations of match-fixing after which the CoA recommended he be included in Grade B of central contracts.

The Bengal pacer was excluded from the list of central contracts after his wife Hasin Jahan accused him of domestic violence and extra-marital affairs a day ahead of the announcement of the contracts.

Shami was probed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s anti-corruption officials after allegations were made by his estranged wife that he had taken money from Pakistani contacts.

But at the end of the investigations by the head of the BCCI anti-corruption unit Neeraj Kumar, the paceman was found not guilty and thus the CoA has recommended that he should be placed in Grade B of the contract lists.

“Neeraj Kumar has submitted his confidential report to the CoA. Based on the conclusions in the said report, the CoA is of the view that no further actions/proceedings under the BCCI anti-corruption code are warranted in the matter,” a BCCI statement read.

“For this reason, the BCCI shall proceed with offering a Grade ‘B’ annual retainership contract to Mohd Shami,” the statement added.

IANS