Rupganj chairman handed life ban

Lutfar Rahman Badal, the Legends of Rupganj chairman, has been handed a life ban from all cricket activities by the BCB's disciplinary committee for his outburst against the BCB president Nazmul Hassan and two other directors. In addition, Rupganj joint secretary Tarikul Islam and team manager Sabbir Ahmed received five and three-year bans for allegedly intimidating and abusing match officials.

The committee took the decision on Tuesday night after the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) had put a temporary ban on Lutfar and Tarikul earlier in the evening. The committee did not summon the Rupganj officials to defend their cases.

On December 3, after Rupganj's Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League match against Prime Bank Cricket Club, Badal accused board officials of rigging league schedules and umpire appointments in his club's matches. He also used objectionable language towards BCB directors Khaled Mahmud and Ismail Haider Mallick, and said that Hassan was aware of every "wrongdoing".

The outburst drew sharp criticism from the BCB directors, club officials, the players' association and the umpires' association. They held a press conference on December 8 demanding a ban on Badal. There were processions in the Shere Bangla National Stadium premises, as well as several banners hung against Badal.

On Tuesday afternoon, hours before the two BCB committees held their meetings, Badal apologised to all the concerned parties for his verbal attack. Legends of Rupganj, formerly known as Gazi Tank Cricketers, are the defending Dhaka Premier League champions.