Veteran Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim was in the limelight for all the wrong reasons and faced heavy criticism from the veteran cricketers and fans on social media after his ugly side was seen during Bangladesh's prestigious T20 cricket competition – Bangabandhu T20 Cup.
On December 14, Beximco Dhaka and Fortune Barishal were up against each other in the first eliminator of the Bangabandhu T20 Cup at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.
Mushfiqur led Beximco Dhaka won the match by nine wickets against Barishal, but their captain’s violent and angry behavior became the focal point of the game.
During the game, Rahim lost his cool at Nasum Ahmed, who was fielding at short fine-leg as the former Bangladesh captain had almost thrown a punch at his teammate after a light collision while going for a catch that almost could cause a dropped catch in the eliminator on Monday.
Read Also: Mushfiqur Rahim apologizes to Nasum Ahmed for on-filed outburst; shares post on Instagram
The controversial incident took place in the 17th over of the second innings when Barishal needed 45 runs off 19 deliveries with five wickets in hand with Afif Hossain looking set batting at 55 runs.
During the last ball of the 17th over of the game, Arif tried to grab a boundary off the left-arm pacer Shafiqul Islam but the ball ended up getting a top edge and the ball went in the air in the fine-leg region with both Mushfiqur and Nasum running for the catch and were almost going to collide in Dhaka.
There seemed to be a bit of miscommunication as the duo almost collided before Mushfiqur plucked the ball, but the skipper was furious with Nasum and in the heat of the moment, he almost hit him in anger for not hearing his call and running to take the catch.
Later, Dhaka players gathered and tried to cheer up Nasum but Mushfiqur continued to slander his teammate and the skipper’s bizarre behavior didn’t go down well with him as he was fined 25% of his match fees by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for his aggressive behavior.
The official release said: “The BCB on Tuesday issued a statement saying Rahim was fined 25% of his match fees for breaching the BCB code of conduct. One demerit point was also added to Rahim's disciplinary record as he was found guilty of ‘showing insulting gesture towards a teammate’.”
Meanwhile, Mushfiqur also apologized for his angry confrontation during the game, as a demerit point has also been added to Rahim’s disciplinary record and if it reaches four or more demerit points in the tournament, the points will be converted into match suspension and he will be banned.
He wrote on his Facebook page: “First of all... I would like to apologize to all my fans and spectators regarding the incident that happened yesterday. I have already apologized after the game to my fellow team-mate Nasum. I am a human being above all and the gesture that I have shown was not acceptable. I promise it won't be repeated.”
Noteworthy, with the win, Dhaka booked a spot in Qualifier 2 to be played on 15th December at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka.
(With ANI/ESPNCricinfo Inputs)
