Royal players, coach to face sanctions
The coach, captain and a player of Dhaka Royal Cricketers are likely to be punished for misbehaving with umpires in the just-concluded third division cricket league.
A video went viral on Facebook on November 18 which brought umpiring irregularities in lower-tier cricket back under the spotlight despite the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB’s) claims of eradicating corruption from the grassroots.
The video showed a number of players verbally abusing and accusing the two on-field umpires for making biased decisions to help their opposing team win.
A Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) official said that the coach, captain and a player involved in the incident had accepted their guilt and the committee have sent their recommendation to BCB for further action.
“Team manager Sabbir Ahmed Rubel was absent from the hearing. He is currently out of the country and will come to the hearing once he returns. Two players, the captain and coach were present in the hearing on Sunday. They accepted their guilt and admitted that they committed injustice towards the umpires by abusing them. Our disciplinary committee forwarded their recommendation to the board. The disciplinary committee will implement whatever decision the board takes,” said Amin Khan, the coordinator of CCDM’s premier division unit.
According to the CCDM bylaws, if anyone is found guilty of misbehaving with the umpire, he can be banned from one to three years.
This incident took place after the conclusion of the match between Dhaka Royal Cricketers and Kamrangirchor SC in Fatullah.
The video was uploaded by a Royal official and showed players and officials chanting ‘cheat, cheat’ at the two umpires Jahirul Islam Jewel and Saidur Rahman, before they were escorted inside the stadium by police and the match referee.
However, the CCDM are yet to take any decision against the umpires for their alleged favouritism.
“The hearing was based on the match referees’ report, where he mentioned the misbehaviour from Royal players and coach. There was no complaint against the umpires and even the Royal players and coach denied the captain’s observation in his report, where it was written that the umpires are ‘thieves’,” Amin added.
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