Doleshwar-Abahani match postponed after incident with umpires

The Dhaka Premier League match between Abahani Limited and Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club has been postponed and any further decision on the game will now be taken by the BCB, according to league coordinator Amin Khan. The rest of the Dhaka Premier League is to proceed as scheduled.

On Sunday, during the match at the BKSP-3 ground, umpires Gazi Sohel and Tanvir Ahmed cited "illness" for walking off the field, after they were abused by Abahani players and supporters angrily protesting a stumping decision during Doleshwar's innings. The match did not continue on Monday, the reserve day.

"We have informed all the [Dhaka Premier League] clubs that the league will continue as it is, with this match being postponed," Khan said. "The match referee left the decision with us [Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis], and we referred it to the board. We have referred this game to the board, who will now take the decision. They will also decide on the umpires. We informed them that the two teams were ready to play, but the match couldn't be held due to the umpires' refusal to officiate.

"The match referee wrote in his report that the umpires are sick and not in a position to run the game. He doubted whether they could officiate even today, the reserve day. The match referee wrote that, as a result, the match couldn't take place."

Several newspapers in Bangladesh showed photos of arguments between umpire Sohel and Abahani captain Tamim Iqbal, while TV channels also showed the Abahani supporters hurling abuse from near the boundary rope.

Tamim was apologetic of his outburst, but said he did not expect the umpires to walk out. "It was very crucial if the decision went in favour of my team as they would have been three wickets down," Tamim told Dhaka Tribune. "I queried the umpire regarding the decision. I should have been more polite to the umpire. But every point in the Super League stage means a lot, and being a captain I can query the umpire.

"But one thing is sure, I should have behaved better. It was just an emotional outburst which we all go through in tight games. But at the same time I never thought the umpires would walk away and refuse to continue the game. I feel sorry whatever happened that day."

However, Khan said that the match referee didn't mention anything about abusive language or threats to the umpires: "I wouldn't be referring to any incidents that came out in the media. I will only see what's in the match referee's report. It didn't contain anything about any team, player or supporters creating chaos. He only wrote that the umpires were sick."

Prime Doleshwar were 59 for 2 off 17 overs, in pursuit of Abahani's 191, when the incident occurred.