Both DPL sides were unhappy with female umpire’s appointment

Before the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) match between Mohammedan Sporting and Prime Bank on Thursday, both teams had raised concerns regarding a female umpire officiating in the game, BCB sources have confirmed.

Shathira Jakir Jessy, who had been recently included in the ICC development panel, officiated in her first DPL game as an on-field umpire, becoming the first female umpire from the country to achieve the feat.

It was a great achievement for female umpires in the country but both the teams and their officials had been unhappy with Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) over appointing a female on-field umpire. "More than the players, the team officials were vocal regarding this," a BCB source said.

"Yes, they were unhappy that BCB had appointed a female umpire but the match had to go on," BCB umpires' committee chairman Iftekhar Ahmed Mithu told The Daily Star.

"They made comments regarding their unhappiness [regarding appointment]. They did not make the complaint to me but did so with CCDM. It's unfortunate since our Prime Minister is a woman. We should encourage these appointments," he added.

When asked about this, officials from both Mohammedan and Prime Bank denied lodging any complaints.

"We didn't know that a female umpire had been appointed for the match. We all know that the female umpires in Bangladesh don't have a lot of experience. We did not complain, but we expected umpires who regularly officiate in the DPL since it's a big game," Prime Bank team manager Sikder Abul Kashem Kongkon told The Daily Star yesterday.

Mohammedan's cricket organiser Tariqul Islam Titu echoed Sikder's statement.

"We felt that this match needed a better umpire, but we didn't make any official complaints," said Sikder.

The match between two big sides came into focus particularly for Prime Bank batter Mushfiqur Rahim's dismissal. Mushfiqur was given out after a terrific catch from Mohammedan's Abu Haider Rony. Replays however showed that Rony had his foot over the ropes while taking the catch. But since the match was not a televised one, there was no opportunity to call the third-umpire into action. In that circumstance, the words of the fielders and the opposition captain were the definitive factor and the on-field umpires had to give out.

While taking the catch, Rony also did not appear to be aware that his foot moved the rope.

"Firstly, this is not a televised game, the umpires have to depend on the fielders' honesty when they ask the fielders," DPL technical committee member and the match referee for the game Roquibul Hasan had explained to The Daily Star yesterday.

The umpires had explained the situation to Mushfiqur who walked back to the dug out following the discussion. Yet, the decision has caused controversy despite their being no provision left for on-field umpires to do something different.