Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan has called for an investigation into allegations of biased umpiring in the Dhaka Premier League T20, after the “extremely insulting” incident involving Shakib Al Hasan. The board chief has already, in light of that incident, formed a committee to speak to the 12 clubs to find out about their issues during the tournament, and asked them to report back to him this week.
The talk about biased umpiring came up again after Shakib kicked the stumps following an lbw appeal being denied in the Abahani-Mohammedan Sporting Club match on Friday. Shakib then threw down the stumps after play was stopped due to rain. His subsequent actions, which included abusing the umpires and groundstaff, landed him a three-match ban and a fine of BDT 5 lakh (USD 5,800 approx).
“It (Shakib’s outburst) has spread so much internationally,” Hassan told Jamuna TV. “I am getting non-stop calls from all over the world. This is extremely insulting for Bangladesh. I think there’s no point in playing domestic cricket until and unless we find out the solution. It has reached an extreme point. It has ruined all the good work we have done.”
Hassan said he hadn’t yet received any complaints from the clubs, which would have to come through the captain’s report at the end of the match. But there have been murmurs of biased umpiring and allegations of under-performance during this tournament.
“They haven’t shown me anything as proof. I am only seeing documents signed by managers and captains from matches. There’s no complaint from anyone, so who will give me the allegations? I have still asked them to find out what’s going on. Matches are being recorded now. It is not just hearsay. We will definitely take action,” he said.
Hassan stressed that the BCB is spending a lot of money to maintain a bio-bubble for all 12 DPL clubs and match officials, so he expects a clean competition.
“I am not in favour of running domestic cricket until I find a solution. We have to solve the problem first. We hear from people, from the media, and Facebook that everything is pre-planned.
“If that’s so, there is no point of running these games, that too during Covid, and spending one million dollars as additional cost for the bio-bubble,” he said.
Hassan has previously called for an investigation after several incidents took place in the Dhaka league-cricket system, including the Dhaka Premier League. Although the BCB has often said that clubs don’t lodge complaints through official channels about umpiring, there is documented evidence from as far back as 2016 that clubs have complained against certain umpires for bias.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84
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