The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has formally addressed the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) concerning umpiring decisions during two Under-19 ODI matches held in Muscat. Bangladesh’s head coach, Hannan Sarkar, indicated that the team acknowledged these decisions in the captain’s report, adding a separate note about an incident involving Afghanistan’s captain, Sohail Khan, allegedly bowling 11 overs in the third game of the series, exceeding the ten-over limit.
Meetings took place between Bangladesh’s management and match referee Yasir Latifzai to discuss these matters. Bangladesh presented video evidence regarding lbw decisions they deemed incorrect and the overs bowled by Khan. The additional over was officially credited to another player, Shah Faisal Rahimi. However, Bangladesh contends that Sohail Khan was indeed the bowler for that over.
“We have written about the umpiring decisions in the captain’s report, and added a special note, specifically mentioning the eleven overs in question,” stated Sarkar to Cricinfo. “We were using the Cricinfo scorecard on a phone because we didn’t have access to the official scorer,” he added, explaining that they became aware of the discrepancy as the over was completed.
Bangladesh also shared footage detailing how the discrepancy occurred. Sarkar explained, “The official scorer recorded ten overs (for Sohail Khan) but credited one to a different player who hadn’t bowled. This misattribution occurred when an Afghanistan bowler handed his cap to the umpire, took it back, and the captain bowled instead, unnoticed by the scorer.”
During subsequent matches, further concerns related to umpiring, including lbw and caught-behind decisions, were brought up. Reports of arguments between the two coaching staff emerged, though both parties later resolved the discussions amicably.
In light of these events, the BCB’s game development committee has emailed the ACB, urging them to closely evaluate the umpiring standards. A BCB official noted, “We have written to them to simply make them aware of what was happening (in the bilateral series). We cautioned them to be more careful next time.” Cricinfo has reached out to the ACB for their input on the matter.
