The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) match between Fortune Barishal and Rangpur Riders on Tuesday resulted in an argument between the star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and the umpires, for which he was fined 15% of his match money (January 10). Nurul Hasan was additionally penalized for violating Article 2.4 of the BCB Code of Conduct by ignoring the umpire’s instructions. Anamul Haque was also fined for expressing disagreement with the umpire’s ruling.
The seventh game of the BPL 2023 had a lot of controversies as players got into heated disputes with the umpires. At Shere Bangla Nationa Stadium in Mirpur, Shakib elected to bat first and invited Rangpur Riders to follow. Despite Shoaib Malik scoring 54 off just 36, he managed to keep the Riders to 158/7 by taking Mohammad Naim’s wicket on the opening delivery.
Fortune Rakibul Hasan, a left-arm spinner, held the ball as Barishal’s openers Anamul Haque and Chaturanga de Silva came onto the field in pursuit. But Shakib gave Haque the order to allow the left-handed de Silva to take a swing from the sidelines. De Silva took the strike, but Rangpur captain Nurul gave the ball to off-spinner Mahedi Hasan. Nurul returned to Rakibul after tight-handed Haque took a second blow. But the real drama began when Shakib came onto the field wearing his slippers, which also elicited loud applause from the spectators. As the tension in the middle increased, Shakib agitated with Nurul and the umpires.
With six wickets and four balls left, Fortune Barishal was able to complete the chase while Shakib sat on the sidelines. Nurul claimed during the game that Shakib was giving instructions from outside and that he had never seen a captain enter the pitch in such a manner. “I was changing the bowlers seeing Shakib bhai screaming from outside. This is the first time I saw (the captain entering the field like that),” Nurul Hasan said after the game.
Shakib, Nurul, and Anamul all acknowledged their wrongdoing and chose to forego the formal hearing in favor of the punishment that match referee Akhtar Ahmad had suggested. All three players added one demerit point to their disciplinary record in addition to the fines. Shakib and the officials got into a furious fight on January 7 during Fortune Barishal’s first game against Sylhet Strikers. After the umpire refused to indicate a wide, he lost his composure, which led Shakib to doubt the officials’ judgment.
