On Tuesday, the first phase of the ninth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League concluded amid ample disputes and discontent, as well as a small number of positive outcomes at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
The ongoing version of the country’s lone T-20 franchise contest saw its first controversy in the first tie of the second day of its commencement when Dhaka Dominators opening batsman Soumya Sarkar defied a decision handed by the field umpire.
The controversy took place in the sixth over of Dhaka’s innings when Soumya Sarkar was given out leg-before off Nasum Ahmed on five, and the batsman reviewed the decision only to find that the decision had not been overturned.
Soumya looked furious, suggesting that the ball hit the bat or his gloves as the on-field umpire kept talking to the third umpire, who was part of the alternate decision review system.
In the end, much to Tamim Iqbal’s dismay, Soumya was not given out.
The second disagreement occurred during the following game between Fortune Barishal and Sylhet Strikers, with Barishal skipper Shakib Al Hasan yelling at the field umpire's decision after the latter failed to recognize a ball as "no" on the back of a high affair, forcing Shakib to exchange a heated argument with the umpire.
Shakib Al Hasan was once again in hot water during their match against the Rangpur Riders on Tuesday, when the country's ace all-rounder got into an argument with the umpires over a technicality.
Before the second inning of the tie began, Shakib was seen talking with the umpires and appearing excited. Shakib needed to be calmed down as he and the umpire walked back halfway before the 35-year-old all-rounder turned around and headed towards the dugout.
Rangpur were set to begin their innings with left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan. However, when their skipper Nurul Hasan found that Barisal’s left-handed opener Chaturanga de Silva was taking the strike, Nurul tried to bring in right-arm off-spinner SK Mahedi in place of Rakibul as a matchup.
However, Shakib couldn’t accept it and subsequently entered the field from the dressing room and was spotted exchanging heated arguments with the field umpires. However, the field umpires eventually sustained Shakib’s decision.
And the final chaos occurred in the same tie when Fortune Barishal’s opening batsman Anamul Haque Bijoy left his dissatisfaction on his way to the dressing room after he had been handed a leg before out by the TV umpire following a strong appeal from the Chattogram’s Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza.
However, apart from the disputes, there were some constructive outcomes in the initial phase of competition as well, with two Pakistani campaigners of the Khulna Tigers and Sylhet Strikers, Azam Khan and Usman Khan, hitting the opening hundreds of the tournament, respectively.
Furthermore, Bangladesh A team campaigner and top order batsman Twohid Hridoy could captivate the fans as well as the Bangladesh national selection panel with his batting firepower as he bagged three successive fifties out of their four games, assisting his side to secure the top spot in the points table.
