Dhaka Premier League clash called off after umpires walk away

The Dhaka Premier League has so far been drawing plenty of attention for the amount of Indian cricketers who have decided to play in the tournament but this time, it is in the news for all the wrong reasons as the clash between Abahani Limited and Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club was called off after the umpires walked off.

The reason why the umpires left the field was due to an incident that occured in the 16^th over of the second innings when Raqibul Hasan was not given out by umpire Gazi Sohel. Left-arm spinner Saqlain Sajib was the bowler and there was an appeal for a stumping that was turned down.

After the incident, Abahani players, including their captain Tamim Iqbal and their fans started to protest the decision. The fans began to hurl abuse at the umpires (Gazi Sohel and Tanvir Ahmed) and soon after that they left the field upon consulting with the match referee Montu Dutta.

Earlier in the game that was , Prime Doleshwar had won the toss and elected to bowl first. An impressive spell of fast bowling by Bangladesh pacer Al-Amin Hossain saw the back of both openers, including opposing captain Tamim Iqbal.

Star of Bangladesh’s U-19 World Cup campaign, Nazmul Hossain Shanto and wicketkeeper Liton Das repaired the damage but both fell in quick succession after the team crossed three figures. Shanto top-scored with 71 but Prime Doleshwar pulled things back and bowled them out for 191 in the 43^rd over.

In response, both openers were dismissed cheaply once again and by the time that the incident occured in the 16^th over, Raqibul Hasan and RCB’s Sachin Baby were at the crease. When the umpires left the field after 17 overs, they were cruising to victory at 59/2.

Although they were later asked to chase a revised target as per the D/L method, they refused by claiming that the weather wasn’t the reason for the stoppage.

Prime Doleshwar coach Mizanur Rahman Babul said: "Why should we go by the Duckworth/Lewis method? Our club officials are not going to abide by it today. The match didn't stop because of us. What happened was quite unfortunate”.

Khaled Mahmud, the Abahani coach, had a different view of the proceedings.

”There was no threat or any situation created that the umpires had to leave the field," he said. "They could have handled the situation much better. It is quite natural that [Prime] Doleshwar didn't want to play according to the D/L method when the situation didn't demand of such a thing.”

The match referee also added that the decision about whether the game will continue on the reserve day lies with the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis, which runs the league.

"They will let us know if the match will go ahead in the reserve day, since the umpires mentioned illness as the cause for coming off the field," Dutta said.