Bizarre incidents in spotlight again

Ankon leisurely got under the delivery and appeared to just let the catch go, not even getting a hand on it. The wicketkeeper immediately signalled that the sunlight had hit his eyes as Alauddin stared on in disbelief.

While Bangladesh fans are allowing themselves a rare moment of joy after the Tigers' historic ODI series triumph in South Africa, the focus yesterday turned sharply back to the domestic circuit for all the wrong reasons.

While Anamul Haque Bijoy struck a magnificent 184 for Prime Bank against Shinepukur Cricket Club, it was overshadowed by the circumstances that had been prevalent in the domestic circuit for a long time. In fact, both games played yesterday were subjects of controversy.

In the 40th over of the game between Prime Bank and Shinepukur, Mohammad Mithun was batting with Anamul on 183 at the non-striker's end. Mithun skied an Alauddin Babu delivery and the batter was so sure the catch was going to be taken by wicketkeeper Mahidul Islam Ankon, he proceeded to walk away to the dressing room.

However, Ankon leisurely got under the delivery and appeared to just let the catch go, not even getting a hand on it. The wicketkeeper immediately signalled that the sunlight had hit his eyes as Alauddin stared on in disbelief.

While there is obviously no conclusive evidence of foul play, it appeared the wicketkeeper was not keen to take that catch. Mithun went on to add 30 more runs from 16 deliveries before Prime Bank won by a massive 111 runs.

The other game saw an incredible leg-before decision being given when the ball had actually taken an inside-edge. Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity were batting in chase of Abahani Limited's 261 for nine when an Arafat Sunny delivery took Hasanuzzaman's inside-edge and ran down to fine leg.

No appeal was made by the bowler, who instead looked to be contemplating just how close he was to getting a wicket. A few fielders went up with half-hearted appeals but on-field umpire Masudur Rahman raised the finger. Much to his surprise, Sunny turned around to find he got a wicket. The match ended in a 20-run win for Abahani at BKSP.

The two incidents became immediate topics of discussion on social media, with the umpire's call even going viral. The latter incident also came under the notice of the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM). It informed to The Daily Star that the umpiring committee had been notified and the umpire in question had been called for a hearing.

"We were notified about the incident and it also went viral on social media. The umpire in question is a very good umpire with a good track record. He has been called to a hearing tomorrow to shed light on the incident," CCDM chairman Salahuddin Chowdhury told The Daily Star yesterday.

Incidents such as these have over the years given rise to doubts about whether the Dhaka Premier League is truly competitive.

Last year, Mohammedan's Shakib Al Hasan kicked down the stumps in anger during a DPL match. While his behaviour was admonished around the cricket community, it brought fresh realisations of the inconsistencies in the country's domestic circuit.

Anamul, who secured his 14th List A ton during a smashing 142-ball 184 and could have been the second batter after Soumya Sarkar to score a double ton in Bangladesh's List A cricket should have been the focus of the day, but DPL incidents turned attention to darker realms.