"Other owner bought covers worth $20,000" - Bangla Tigers CEO reveals full story behind Shakib Al Hasan toss controversy in GT20 Eliminator
Global T20 (GT20) Canada franchise Mississauga Bangla Tigers CEO Zaffir Yasin has revealed that their opponents in the Eliminator, Toronto Nationals' owner Luqman Ahmed provided the organizers with ground covers worth $20,000 (₹16.8 lakh) amid heavy rain in the region. He suggested this influenced the tournament's decision to award the Eliminator in the Nationals' favor after a major controversy.
The Eliminator never got going after heavy rain caused puddles all around the ground. A day after the match, the Technical Committee released a statement that the match was being awarded to the Nationals because the Tigers' captain Shakib Al Hasan didn't turn up for the toss despite being informed of the consequences.
“One day before the match, the other owner bought covers worth $20,000 and he had some people in the field making sure everything was right," Yasin told Cricket.com in an interview. "The thing is, all these factors influenced the decision that came through.”
Explaining what happened on the day, Yasin said:
"On the match day, when the two captains were called for the toss, Shakib [Al Hasan] went to the umpire’s office. Shakib asked the umpires why a five-over match can’t be done because that’s what the ICC rulebook says. This is when the umpires responded saying that a five-over match can’t be done because it’s risky but a one-over match can be done because it carries much less risk."
“Shakib responded after this by saying that if the conditions are dangerous for a five-over game, then they are definitely dangerous for a one-over game as well."
Yasin also refuted claims that the Tigers refused to play the match, saying his team knew that doing so would knock them out of the tournament.
Nationals owner made a U-turn on re-organizing the game: Mississauga Bangla Tigers CEO
Yasin further revealed that the owners had jointly decided to play a shortened re-match the next day and got assurances from Cricket Canada too. However, he added, when his team reached the ground, they were told a completely different story.
"We had an owner’s meeting, and in that meeting, Toronto Nationals owner Luqman Ahmed agreed to play a shortened match the next day. Cricket Canada came to us and assured us that a 10-over game will be done the next day,” Yasin said.
“Since everything was agreed upon, we were confident that we were playing a match the next day. But the next day, when we were all set to play a 10-over match, Luqman did a u-turn and said that Toronto do not consent to a rematch,” Yasin continued.
The Mississauga Bangla Tigers CEO concluded:
“I spoke to a lot of senior players from the other teams and they were laughing at the tournament committee. They admitted that it made no sense for Toronto to go through."
Despite finishing a spot below the Tigers in the league stage, the Nationals went on to win the second Qualifier and the final.