Shakib handed 3-match ban, Tk 5 lakh fine
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was yesterday banned for three matches and fined five lakh taka for losing his temper and taking his frustration out on the stumps during a Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division T20 League game in Mirpur on Friday.
The decision came following plenty of hullabaloo and a lengthy wait as the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM), who are regulating the tournament, took almost a day to announce that it had found Shakib in breach of a Level 3 offence of the BCB code of conduct during Mohammedan SC's clash with Abahani Limited.
Shakib, the skipper of Mohammedan, kicked the stumps over in a fit of rage after umpire Imran Parvez denied an LBW appeal in the fifth over of their game against Abahani. He was seen threatening the umpire and soon after, when the umpire called for the covers due to increasing rain, uprooted the stumps and slammed them onto the ground.
Shakib was also seen exchanging heated words with Abahani staff and their coach Khaled Mahmud in particular before the all-rounder was dragged away to the dressing room by teammates. That misunderstanding was sorted when Shakib went to the locker room after and offered his apologies.
Interestingly, the drama that the top all-rounder created on the field was matched by the BCB in meting out a punishment regarding the offence. According to standard practice, a decision on the matter should have come within a few hours of the game as the ICC-mandated rules for such offences are very clear.
"They [match officials] were thinking on what level the breach was made. The procedure is that the match referee will notify the accused player of the charges for the breach and if the player accepts the charges, then the charges will stand as is. But if the player objects to the charges, then a hearing will be held. Sorting out all these steps took this much time," explained a BCB official.
The BCB official also conceded that it should not have taken so long for a decision to be made.
"The decision should have come just [a few hours] after the game when the match report was submitted. As it is a level 3 offence, this issue should not have been dragged till the forming of a technical committee. If it were a level 4 offence, that entails a minimum 1-year suspension. Only in that case a technical committee is needed to be formed," added the BCB official.
The decision, which should have been a very straightforward one, finally came yesterday evening only after BCB president Nazmul Hassan held a meeting with a few of the board's directors at his residence.