In the recently concluded Nidahas Trophy 2018, there were some unsavoury scenes in the virtual semi-final clash between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on March 6.
In a contentious decision with the game evenly balanced till the final over, Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan called back his team players after umpires failed to call a no-ball for a second bouncer in the last over bowled by Isuru Udana. As things transpired, Bangladesh went on to clinch the game with Mahmudullah Riyad sealing Sri Lanka’s fate with a match-winning six off the penultimate delivery of the game.
Following the match, the episode of broken glass panels in Bangladesh’s dressing room got added to the already controversial list of affairs.
Although the CCTV footage was inconclusive as to who caused the damage, the reports in Sri Lanka’s leading newspaper, The Island, has suggested that Bangladesh skipper Shakib was the one accountable for this misdemeanor.
As per the reports in The Island, match referee Chris Broad spoke to the caterers in the dressing room after the match to find out the culprit, and one of the caterers of Movenpick Hotel in Colombo, where the Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi teams were staying, informed Broad that it was Shakib who broke the glass panels.
It is pertinent to mention here that after the tense scenes and the ugly altercations, Shakib was penalized 25 percent of his match fee by the International Cricket Council (ICC) while the substitute Nurul Hasan was fined a similar amount. Both the players had earned a demerit point as well.
