Afghanistan Captain Bowled 11 Overs; BCB Writes to Afghanistan Cricket Board Over Umpiring

Staff Report: PNN

Bangladesh Under-19 ended its four-match One-Day International series against Afghanistan Under-19 in a 2-2 draw. However, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has raised objections over alleged umpiring and scoring irregularities during the third match of the series.

Bangladesh's complaint centres on the allegation that Afghanistan captain Sohaib Khan bowled 11 overs in the match, exceeding the permitted limit. The BCB has sent a letter to the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) informing it of the matter.

Bangladesh Under-19 head coach Hannan Sarkar shared the information with cricket website ESPNcricinfo. He said the captain's report had raised objections to several umpiring decisions during the third ODI. An additional note was also submitted concerning Sohaib Khan's alleged 11-over spell.

According to Hannan, the prescribed form for submitting the captain's report did not provide a separate section for detailed complaints of this nature. As a result, an additional note was attached after the list of disputed decisions.

According to Bangladesh's complaint, Afghanistan captain Sohaib Khan bowled an additional over after completing his permitted 10 overs in the third match. Under the rules of One-Day International cricket, a bowler is allowed to bowl a maximum of 10 overs in a standard 50-over innings.

Hannan said the Bangladesh team did not have access to the official scorer's information during the match. Consequently, the team monitored the bowlers' over counts using the ESPNcricinfo scorecard on the team manager's phone. The team's own analyst also calculated that Sohaib had completed his 10 overs.

By the time the team realised the discrepancy, the Afghan captain had already started the next over. The Bangladesh team informed the umpires immediately after that over was completed.

Hannan claimed the situation resulted from a scoring error. According to his explanation, one over had been recorded against the name of a particular player even though that player had not actually bowled it. The player had handed his cap to the umpire but later took it back. Afghanistan captain Sohaib Khan then bowled in his place. However, because the scorer did not notice the change, the over was incorrectly recorded under the other player's name.

Hannan also said the Bangladesh team submitted video footage of the disputed over to match referee Yasir Latifzai. The Bangladesh team management discussed the incident with the match referee on two separate occasions.

A BCB official told ESPNcricinfo that the letter had been sent to the Afghanistan Cricket Board to inform it about what happened during the bilateral series. The official added that the letter also highlighted the need for greater caution to prevent similar situations in the future.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh's team management had also expressed dissatisfaction with the umpiring during the fourth match of the series. The team raised concerns over several leg-before-wicket (LBW) and caught-behind decisions. The disagreements reportedly led to a heated exchange of words between members of the two teams' coaching staffs. However, both sides subsequently shook hands and discussed the matter.

The four-match series ended in a 2-2 draw. Nevertheless, Bangladesh's objections concerning the over count and umpiring in the third match have generated fresh discussion beyond the on-field contest.