5 bizarre controversies in Bangladesh Premier League ft. Shoaib Malik saga
The Bangladesh Premier League, which is the country's premier franchise T20 tournament, has not been short of controversy ever since its inception. The league has had allegations of corruption, match-fixing and non-payment of dues among others in its 10 editions so far.
Sometimes, these allegations make the headlines and draw a lot of attention. Such incidents have become commonplace at this tournament. In this article, we bring to you five bizarre controversies that have affected the Bangladesh Premier League.
#1 Shoaib Malik saga
The Shoaib Malik saga is the one that is doing the rounds the most at the moment. The saga began when his team Fortune Barishal's owner Mizanur Rahman cast aspersions over the Pakistani all-rounder's ethics. Malik bowled three no-balls and conceded 18 runs in his fourth over in a match against the Khulna Tigers on January 22.
The issue escalated further when it was found out that Malik had cut his stay in Bangladesh short and returned to the UAE. However, the issue died down when Barishal retracted their allegations about the star Pakistani all-rounder, and said that he had gone back to the UAE as per a previous arrangement.
#2 Chattogram's non-payment of Nasum Ahmed's dues
One of the biggest controversies rocking BPL 2022 was when Chattogram Challengers' icon player Nasum Ahmed claimed that his dues were not cleared by the franchise.
Ahmed claimed that he did not get his full payment from the team and had tried getting in touch with the latter. Nobody from the franchise was picking up his calls, he alleged. Chattogram, naturally, denied the allegations.
#3 Naeem Islam replaced Mehidy Hasan Miraz as skipper before toss
One of the biggest controversies that hit the BPL in its 2022 season was when Naeem Islam replaced Mehidy Hasan Miraz as the Chattogram Challengers' captain just before their game against the Sylhet Sunrisers.
Miraz, who had led the team to two victories in the first four matches, was caught by surprise by the decision.
The franchise reiterated that they had to take the call owing to a decision made by their head coach Paul Nixon, who suggested some internal problems.
#4 Sudden change in Dhaka's ownership
A few days before the Bangladesh Premier League season began in 2022, the Bangladesh Cricket Board announced that Rupa Fabrics Ltd & Marn Steel Ltd (Consortium) would own the Dhaka franchise.
However, things took a turn for the worse when it was announced much later that the group had lost ownership of the team owing to their failure to pay the franchise fee within the stipulated time.
The BCB was forced to take ownership of the franchise. They selected the players for the draft and later on, passed ownership onto the Minister group.
#5 Taskin Ahmed threatened to quit Bangladesh Premier League
One of the major controversies surrounding the BPL was when Taskin Ahmed almost threatened to quit the competition. The pacer alleged that he was denied his full payment by Sylhet soon after Chattogram's captaincy debacle.
Taskin, who was a direct signing for the Sunrisers, expected his full payment before the tournament began, but he was ruled out with an injury.
The BCB had to come in and settle the issue between the two parties. It was said that the problem arose because of a 'communication gap' between Taskin and the franchise.