Brothers refuse to play, Mohammedan awarded points

A rain affected game between Mohammedan Sporting Club and Brothers Union in the Dhaka Premier League saw Mohammedan awarded points after their oppositions denied to take on the field.

The match at BKSP saw Mohammedan were sent into bat before making 316 runs for the loss of nine wickets in 50 overs. Heavy rain during the innings break denied the scheduled start of play and when the match officials found the field ready for cricket they asked both teams to keep the proceedings. But Brothers denied getting on the field and continue the match.

BCB Match referee Akhtar Ahmad informed the media he was unaware of the exact reason why Brothers did take the field but explained the situation.

“A part of the wicket had got wet due to holes in the covers but that should not have been an issue as it was outside the bowler’s pitching area. But still we waited and the umpires decided to give enough time for the wickets to dry. Usually the officials inform the two captains 10 minutes before resuming the game. Both the captains were informed at 3.55pm that the match will resume at 4.06pm,”said Akhtar to the media on Tuesday.

“The umpires and Mohammedan players took the field on time but the Brothers did not send their batsmen to bat. The umpires waited for nine minutes before leaving the field at 4.15pm because after that there was not enough time to complete 20 overs of the innings to obtain a result. As Brothers did not take the field, Mohammedan were awarded the points by virtue of ‘opposition refused to play’,” explained the match referee.

Brothers Union manager Amin Khan however toned disagreed with the explanations of the match official. According to Amin, his team was not informed the time resumption. The official also claimed that his team was not officially informed of the revised target for the time loss due to the rain.

“We were not informed properly about the time of restarting the game and no official communication was made so there is no question of us refusing to play. The club has decided to write a letter to the CCDM seeking for a re-match or distribute the points between the two teams,” said Amin.

The incident is perhaps the first dispute during a game in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League, where 48 matches have taken place in the season till Tuesday.

CCDM chairman Kazi Inam Ahmed said the BCB and the CCDM have been strict to such issues and are committed to take actions accordingly.

“The CCDM and BCB have always been strict to such issues and we will surely take this matter seriously and take actions accordingly,” said BCB director Kazi Inam.

Before the incidents, Mohammedan had scored 316 for nine boosted with three half centuries. Openers Irfan Sukkur made 92 while Avishek Mitra scored 68. Raqibul Hasan added 50 runs while SohagGazi remained unbeaten on 43.

Brothers’ pacer Mohammad Sharif and Sajedul Islam picked three wickets apiece.