Ctg organisers demand action against Azizul

Sports organisers and fans of Chittagong yesterday staged a protest at the entrance of MA Aziz Stadium, demanding action against Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchisee Sylhet Superstars' owner Azizul Islam.

National team's opener and Chittagong Vikings skipper Tamim Iqbal recently alleged that Azizul had abused him prior to the start of the two teams' fixture on November 23.

The protest was attended, among others, by the Chittagong Divisional Sports Association's general secretary Sirazuddin Mohammed Alamgir and its vice-president Ali Abbas. Both the organisers said that the Sylhet team's owner committed a serious offence, and demanded punitive action against him by the authorities within November 29.  They further threatened to declare Azizul as persona non grata in all the BPL matches at the Chittagong venue unless any action is taken against him.

They also said that they would submit a memorandum to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan Papon and its vice president AJM Nasir Uddin in this regard.

The BCB has already started a probe into the incident, and Papon has said that the alleged incident shouldn't have taken place in the first place as the owner shouldn't have been anywhere near the players. He said that if the probe finds the allegations to be correct, appropriate measures will be taken against that individual.

Chittagong will host eight matches of this edition of BPL from November 30 to December 3.