Zahoor Elahi apologises for striking bowler but gets fine, suspension

Former Pakistan Test batsman Zahoor Elahi apologised to Hasibul Hossain and to cricket fans for his misbehaviour during Thursday's Abahani-Kalabagan encounter in the Bangladesh Premier League. Zahoor claimed that it was purely an accident when he threw his bat out of disappointment after being dismissed, hitting the bowler Hasibul's knee.

He asked for everyone's forgiveness saying that such an incident was the first ever to happen in his life. However, the organisers of the Premier League, the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolitan (CCDM) have banned Zahoor for three matches and also fined him Taka 10,000 (about $US190). Abahani player Mehrab Hossain, who struck Zahoor in the ruckus that ensued following the incident, has been given a one match ban and Iqbal Hossain, also invovled, was given a fine of Taka 5,000 by match referee Golam Faruq.

Faruq has recommended to give a letter of appreciation to Abahani's skipper Akram Khan, who guarded Zahoor and helped him out of the field, handling this volatile situation so well. The incident sparked a brawl in and out of the field. A grounds worker was badly injured when he was hit by one of the thousands of bricks and stones thrown in to the ground by the angry spectators at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka. Elahi had been in outstanding form in the Premier League before his suspension, scoring three centuries in five matches.