Former Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons is not surprised by Mohammad Ashraful's involvement in match-fixing during the second season of the Bangladesh Premier League, but said he feels "sorry" for the ex-captain.
Siddons also revealed that he had informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board Board and the ICC about such a possibility, but said he did not elaborate on the matter.
"I made my thoughts known a while ago to the cricket board and the ICC, so I wasn't surprised at all. It's disappointing but I don't think it's surprising. It's a powerful beast the underworld gambling," Siddons said.
"I feel a bit sorry for him but I don't condone it at all," Siddons was quoted as saying by 'The Dominion Post' today.
"He's a great young kid so I'm really disappointed for him. He probably got roped in as a 15-year-old when he first started by some other people."
Siddons was coach of the Bangladesh team from the end of 2007 till April 2011, during which Ashraful was the captain for two years.
Siddons was also in the knowhow of Ashraful's social and financial background, and feels it might have forced him to involve in corruption.
"People like Ashraful, he's got 15 people living in his house, he feeds probably five families and on a cricketer's wage over there it's near impossible, so you can almost (understand). It's a different world that we live in, it's a tough world for him," he said.
