Darren Stevens defends Bangladesh return

Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens has defended his decision to return to play in the Bangladesh Premier League.

The 39-year-old was accused of corruption following a stint with Dhaka Gladiators in 2013, but was eventually cleared of the charges against him.

"Yes, it was a tough few years of my life but that has passed now," he said.

"I have got no beef with any Bangladeshi people. People can think and say whatever they want but it is my decision what I do in my life."

Stevens was charged by the International Cricket Council (ICC) with failing to report a corrupt approach in August 2013 but was found not guilty by a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) anti-corruption tribunal in February 2014.

The charges related to an alleged match-fixing conspiracy in the Dhaka franchise.

Stevens has played in the BPL twice before, winning the competition with Dhaka Gladiators in 2012 and 2013, and he had no second thoughts about another stint in Bangladesh.

"It is an amazing place to play. I have never played internationally and it's the closest I will ever be to it," he told BBC Radio Kent.

"How can you not love playing in front of 45 or 50 thousand people every second night of the week? To win it was an amazing experience and I played with some of the best players Twenty20 has ever seen.

"I cannot wait to get back. It is a tough place to be for four weeks living-wise but it is an experience."

Stevens will play for Comilla Victorians in this year's edition of the tournament, alongside Pakistan's Shoaib Malik and West Indies trio Sunil Narine, Andre Russell and Marlon Samuels.