Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan finds himself at the eye of a potentially serious controversy after footage of his outburst(s) in a Dhaka Premier League (DPL) match went viral. The ex-Bangladesh skipper is staring down a lane of some strict punishments and disciplinary action from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
Shakib was captaining the Mohammedan Sporting Club in their DPL face-off against the Abahani Limited franchise. Batting first, Mohammedan managed to score 145 in their allotted 20 overs, with Shakib contributing an important 37-runs to the total. In fact, it was a welcome return to batting form for the mercurial Southpaw; who had, up until this point, managed to score only 73 runs across 6 games.
Shakib Al Hasan kicks off stumps
But it wasn’t until Shakib came out to bowl that absolute chaos ensued on-field. In the fifth over of Abahani’s run chase, Shakib conceded 10-runs, with Mushfiqir Rahim, his opposite number, hitting him for a four and six. Naturally, Shakib’s demeanour wasn’t all that pleasant after getting clobbered for two boundaries.
Things, however, took an awfully drastic turn when Shakib appealed for an LBW against Rahim; only for the umpire to turn him down. This flared up Shakib so much that he kicked off the stumps at his end before going on to engage in a heated discussion with the umpire.
The incident with the stumps wasn’t just a one-off. In the very next over, the umpires decided to give the match a break as it had started raining. There was a delivery remaining in over, though, and Mohammedan was trying to squeeze in that final ball before the rain break.
Some of their players were seen talking with the umpires to address the matter. However, it was Shakib- yet again- who had the most animated and disturbing reaction to the matter. The Mohammedan captain walked up to the non-striker’s end, plucked the stumps off the ground and animatedly slammed them on the ground! The umpires and his teammates were seen trying to assuage his temper, but from what it looked like- there was nothing that could’ve calmed Shakib down.
Footage of Shakib acting out goes viral
Unsurprisingly, footage of Shakib and his on-field transgressions have become viral in no time. Several Bangladesh fans have criticized Shakib for his temper and have demanded immediate action from the BCB. Here are two videos showing Shakib at his animated worst:
Shit Shakib..! You cannot do this. YOU CANNOT DO THIS. #DhakaLeague It’s a shame. pic.twitter.com/WPlO1cByZZ
— Saif Hasnat (@saifhasnat) June 11, 2021
One more… Shakib completely lost his cool. Twice in a single game. #DhakaLeague Such a shame! Words fell short to describe these… Chih… pic.twitter.com/iUDxbDHcXZ
— Saif Hasnat (@saifhasnat) June 11, 2021
It doesn’t seem that the BCB will let Shakib Al Hasan off the hook so easily. During the rain break, several photographs and videos emerged showing Shakib shouting at Abahani’s coach Khaled Mahmud. The fact that Mahmud happens to be a top director at the BCB almost certainly guarantees Shakib has a severe punishment coming his way.
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In recent times, Shakib Al Hasan has often found himself in the bad books of the Bangladesh cricketing fraternity. Almost a year ago, he was made to serve a ban by the ICC for his failure to report a corrupt approach. More recently, Shakib has been quite vocal against the BCB disallowing him from participating in overseas T20 leagues. After this incident, it seems as though the cricketing board will disallow him from featuring in any non-international tournament for a long time.