Rubel in jail

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) found itself in a spot of bother after Rubel Hossain landed in jail yesterday following the paceman's surrender before a Dhaka court in connection with a rape case filed by film actress Naznin Akter Happy.

The BCB on Sunday announced a 15-member Bangladesh World Cup team that included the 25-year-old bowler.

The team's preparation camp is all set to start from January 12 and after 10 days' training at home, the Tigers will fly for Brisbane on January 24.

Although yesterday's development came as a surprise, the BCB was yet to take any decision about a replacement as they wanted to wait for a few more days to know about Rubel's fate. But there is a good chance that Shafiul Islam, who will also fly with the team as a stand-by player, will replace him on the 15-member side, given Rubel remained behind bars.

BITTER HAPPY: Policemen escort Bangladesh pace bowler Rubel Hossain (top) from a Dhaka court to the Central Jail after a metropolitan magistrate rejected his bail petition yesterday against a rape case filed by Naznin Akter Happy (R). Rubel has recently been named in the 15-member Bangladesh squad for next month's World Cup down under. Photos: Star

"It is too early to reach any conclusion. We have to wait. This is a very sensitive issue and a complicated one for us as it's totally the player's personal matter. At this moment I cannot say how long we will wait for him, but if he fails to join the squad in time, we have to go for a replacement," said BCB's chief executive officer Nizamuddin Chowdhury.

Chief selector Faruque Ahmed said they could do nothing until the board gave them instructions.

Rubel, who was on a four-week anticipatory bail granted on December 15, appeared before the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Anwar Sadat yesterday morning and submitted a bail petition.

On the other hand, Happy, along with her lawyers, also appeared before the court yesterday to oppose the petition saying that the charge brought against Rubel was primarily proved. Her lawyers also appealed to the court for cancelling his bail and sending him to jail.

After hearing both the sides, the court rejected his petition and ordered authorities to send the cricketer to jail.

Happy filed the case under the Women and Child Repression Prevention Act on December 13 accusing Rubel of luring her into an affair with false promises of marriage. The act registered the fraudulence as a rape charge.

On Tuesday, the High Court rejected a writ petition by Happy that sought directives to remove Rubel from Bangladesh's World Cup squad.