The current ICC President Mr. Mustafa Kamal has threatened to relinquish his current position, citing foul play and sloppy umpiring decisions in the recently concluded India vs Bangladesh Quarter final clash in which India came out supreme.
Bangladesh was forced to give up their World Cup bid following this loss after qualifying for the first time into the knockout stages.
Bangladesh was handed a 109-run defeat by India in the match after India had set a 303 target for them. India’s impeccable bowling figures thanks to Umesh Yadav’s 4-31, helped curb Bangladesh’s total score at 193 all out in 45 overs.
Details
- The recently inducted ICC President Mustafa Kamal who hails from Bangladesh has alleged foul play over sloppy decisions from the umpires which he feels has now resulted in Bangladesh being kicked out of the competition.
- It all started when the during the second quarterfinal match of the ongoing 2015 World Cup between India and Bangladesh, a very controversial ‘no-ball’ decision was given whichapparently led to Rohit Sharma hitting out a century with a 137 runs off 126 balls.
- Rohit was at 90 runs with India at 196 in the 40th over of the match when a marginally waist-high ball by Rubel Hossain was called a ‘no-ball’. This helped Rohitto add 47 runs more runs into his individual score which helped India achieve the 300+ run mark.
- Bangladeshi fans also shouted an outcry over the botchy dismissal of their key batsman, Mohammad Mahmudullah. He hurled a catch towards ShikharDhawan but was caught too close to the boundary rope after many hand-tips. The catch was given out since most camera angles seemed to prove that Shikhar’s foot didn’t rustle the ropes. The decision is still being called inconclusive by most experts since it could have gone either way.
- This match was the biggest match in the history of Bangladesh’s cricketing history since it marked their foremost entry into any World Cup quarterfinals.
- Many fans left the stadium weeping since they had high hopes from their team which was going through a miraculous performance boost this World Cup.
- They even burned an effigy of Umpire Aleem Dar, who is currently in the middle of the controversy owing to the alleged decisions.
- The Bangladesh Cricket Board is also set to lodge a written protest in the ICC against Ian Gould, who was the umpire who adjudged Rubel’s full-toss ball as a waist high ‘no-ball’.
Kamal, whose position remains mainly ceremonial, labelled the ICC’s acronym as ‘Indian Cricket Council’ since India’s N. Srinivasan is the body’s chairman.
Kamal said to the media, “I cannot represent the Indian Cricket Council. If someone has imposed a result on us, in that case no one can accept it. From what I have seen, the umpiring was very poor. There was no quality in the umpiring. It seemed as if they had gone into the match with something in mind, umpires may make mistakes. The ICC will see if this was done deliberately. Everything is on the record. The ICC has to investigate and inquire the issue to see if there’s anything to it”.
It is now left to see what actually the BCB and Kamal do to voice their concerns. The problem is that India has already advanced into their Semi-Final against Australia that will happen on March 26th at the Sydney Cricket Ground. We hope ICC takes a robust and informed decision to put all issues at rest.
