Shakib Al Hasan’s tryst with controversies continued as the Bangladeshi superstar was involved in a heated disagreement with officials of the Global T20 League in Canada on Friday, as his team Bangla Tigers Mississauga was knocked out of competition unusually.
Rain was preventing the match from starting in Brampton, and as the cut-off time approached, the officials opted to proceed with a Super Over, which was disclosed to both teams and was in conformity with the playing regulations.
In protest, Bangla Tigers captain Shakib decided to forgo the Super Over toss. If the match had been judged entirely washed out, Shakib's squad would have advanced to Qualifier 2 because they finished higher in the group stage points table.
Bangla Tigers owner Zafir Yasin argued that the match should have been atleast for five or ten overs a side, and not a Super Over.
GLT20 CEO Joy Bhattacharjya explained to ESPNcricinfo, "We were trying to ensure there was a result either way, however heartbreaking as it may be for the team that loses a one-over shootout. And it was all part of the regulations."
Explaining tournament director Ingleton Liburd's decision to share regulations through WhatsApp, Bhattacharjya said, "They were sent to the managers' group for immediate action, and all tournament-related updates had been provided on the same group until then."
Bhattacharjya also mentioned that the Super Over rule wasn't a new addition, but had already been decided upon.
"It's not like the Super Over provision was brought in for just the game involving Bangla Tigers. It was in place for both games [Qualifier 1 and eliminator]. It's just that it wasn't possible for the first game, and because the second game happened much later in the day, there was a little more time for the ground staff to work on the outfield", he said.
"At the time of the toss, the Toronto Nationals captain was present, but the Bangla Tigers team refused to appear. The match referee explained the plausible consequences of the said action to the captain [Shakib Al Hasan] and thereafter the umpire subsequently awarded the match to Toronto Nationals,” GLT20 said in a statement.
Yasin insists they had sought to have a minimum of five overs per innings, and not just a Super Over to decide the result. Bhattacharjya said the rules could not be changed just like that.
The Bangla Tigers were also upset because the boundaries were shortened before the official cut-off time to "remove the dangerous area of play from consideration". Yasin said that the organizers had "compromised the integrity of the competition" by requesting assistance from Toronto owners to obtain additional coverings on the day of the playoffs.
Despite the match being handed to Toronto, the Bangla Tigers arrived at the venue on Saturday morning to play Qualifier 2, only to be advised by officials that no new requests would be considered. Brampton, who lost Qualifier 1 because it finished lower on the table, subsequently lost Qualifier 2 to Toronto, who will face Montreal in the final on Sunday.
(ESPNCricinfo inputs)
