Bangla Tigers Mississauga, led by Shakib Al Hasan, were knocked out of the Global T20 Canada on Friday, August 9, after they refused to play against Toronto Nationals in the eliminator. Due to persistent rain, it troubled the players to start the game in Brampton, Ontario. The officials declared that only a Super Over could be played as the cut-off time approached and eventually, they informed both teams regarding the same.
Meanwhile, Shakib refused to play the Super Over by not attending the toss in protest. Notably, if the game had been abandoned the Tigers would have advanced to Qualifier 2 automatically, given their higher position on the points table after group stage games.
Meanwhile, Zafir Yasin, the owner of the Bangla Tigers, argued that “at least a five or ten-overs-a-side game” should have been played to determine the winner. GLT20 CEO, Joy Bhattacharjya, on the other hand, stated that the decision was made by the match officials.
“We were trying to ensure there was a result either way, however heartbreaking as it may be for the team that loses a one-over shootout. And it was all part of the regulations,” Bhattacharjya told ESPNcricinfo.
“They were sent to the managers’ group for immediate action, and all tournament-related updates had been provided on the same group until then,” he added while he was questioned why the regulations were distributed via WhatsApp (by tournament director Ingleton Liburd).
“It’s not like the Super Over provision was brought in for just the game involving Bangla Tigers. It was in place for both games [Qualifier 1 and eliminator]. It’s just that it wasn’t possible for the first game, and because the second game happened much later in the day, there was a little more time for the ground staff to work on the outfield,” he said further.
After initial delays during the match, umpires decided to conduct the toss at 7:10 PM and the Super Over was scheduled to begin at 7:30 PM. According to the regulations, the game could have washed out if the Super Over did not start by 7:50 PM. However, at the time of the toss, the Bangla Tigers’ team did not show up and the umpire awarded the match to the Toronto Nationals.
“At the time of the toss, the Toronto Nationals captain was present, but the Bangla Tigers team refused to appear. The match referee explained the plausible consequences of the said action to the captain [Shakib Al Hasan] and thereafter the umpire subsequently awarded the match to Toronto Nationals,” GLT20 said in a statement.