Bangladesh board warns players over ‘unacceptable’ behaviour vs Lanka

DHAKA: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has warned its players that the unsavoury scenes which marred their Nidahas Trophy win over Sri Lanka on Friday were “unacceptable”.

Shakib Al Hasan and Nurul Hasan were fined 25 per cent of their match fees and given one demerit point for their conduct in a dramatic climax to the clash in Colombo.

Captain Shakib gestured to his batsmen to come off the field and remonstrated with the umpire after Mustafizur Rahman was run out in the final over, with the Tigers aggrieved a no-ball was not called.

Confrontation between both sets of players and the umpires ensued in a messy ending as the teams battled to face India in the final.

There were further on-field clashes after Mahmudullah sealed a two-wicket win by hitting the penultimate ball for six, with reserve player Nurul sanctioned for arguing and pointing a finger at Sri Lanka captain Thisara Perera.

The BCB later released a statement, which said: “The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) regrets the unfortunate happenings during Friday’s Nidahas Trophy match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

“The Board accepts the conduct of the Bangladesh team in certain instances was unacceptable on a cricket field. We understand that the events may have transpired due to the importance of the match and the pressure that comes with it but feel that the expected level of professionalism was not exhibited by the team while dealing with a tense situation in the game.

“The Bangladesh team members have been reminded of their responsibility in upholding the spirit of cricket at all times.

“The BCB and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have a lasting bond which has a deep-rooted history of support and cooperation and the players of both sides continue to share an excellent relationship that gets stronger by the day.”