Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das fined for showing serious dissent in BPL

Comilla Victorians skipper Tamim Iqbal and wicketkeeper Liton Das have been slapped a fine of 50% of their respective match fees for breaching Level 2 of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Code of Conduct during the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2017 match against Rangpur Riders at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Saturday (November 18).

Comilla went on to win the match by 14 runs despite the presence of Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum in the opposition line up. Imrul Kayes continued his good form with a 47 while Marlon Samuels played a good knock of 41. Opposition skipper Mashrafe Mortaza scalped two wickets and ended with figures of 2/22. Rangpur were restricted to 32/4 in the first 33 balls as Gayle departed for 17 while McCullum scored 13. England batsman Ravi Bopara tried to make a match out of the contest but his run-a-ball 48 went in vain.

Controversy in BPL

Tamim and Liton were charged by on-field umpires Ranmore Martinesz and Mahfuzur Rahman, third umpire Morshed Ali Khan and fourth umpire Mozahiduzzaman for their animated show of disapproval at an umpiring decision in the Rangpur Riders innings after batsman Ravi Bopara had been adjudged not out to a caught behind appeal,” a BCB press release quoted on Sunday (November 19).
“The players admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Match Referee Salim Shahed and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing,” it added.

At the post-match conference, Tamim said that he wasn’t much happy with the total posted by the Victorians. He didn’t speak about the incident post the game. “We were looking at 160-170, which would have given us a good chance, but their bowlers did well in the middle. Imrul has been batting brilliantly throughout the tournament and Marlon has been doing his job well. Mahedi Hasan has lot of heart. I wanted to see how well he bowls against the two biggest hitters in the world in Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum and he showed he has lot of heart.” Tamim said.