The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) seems to be put into halt. A mammoth controversy arose on Thursday as the match between Chattogram Royals and Noakhali Express saw the match referee standing alone at the ground without the captains. In Mirpur the match was delayed due to none of the team’s captains appearing at the field before the toss. Shipar Ahmed stood alone on the ground.
He told ESPNcricinfo that, “We are standing in the middle of the ground. We don’t know what’s happening. The BPL technical committee can tell you better,”
The toss that was supposed to take place at 12:30 PM local time, rescheduled for 30 minutes later.
This comes after the cancellation of matches in the Dhaka Cricket League earlier in the day chased after a threat by the Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) to halt domestic cricket. The boycott was triggered by “objectionable comments” made by Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director M Nazmul Islam. He reportedly referred to former captain Tamim Iqbal as an “Indian agent.”
The BCB has issued a show-cause notice to Nazmul, but the CWAB, led by president Mohammad Mithun, has called for a nationwide boycott of all forms of cricket. An emergency meeting between officials from both sides was held on Wednesday to ease tensions. Mithun, who also leads the BPL franchise Sylhet Stallions, is expected to address the media later today.
Mithun is likely to demand Nazmul’s resignation on behalf of the CWAB. However, this move could lead to legal complications. According to BCB officials, their constitution makes it very difficult to remove a director unless they resign on their own.
This means that if Nazmul refuses to step down, the boycott may continue for some time. The CWAB, meanwhile, is not expected to settle for anything less than his complete resignation.
