The ongoing Bangladesh Premier League 2022 has thrown up a number of controversial incidents, and we take a look at all the bizarre things that have occurred in the T20 league thus far this year.

The hurdles even before BPL 2022 began

The season’s start was uncertain after as many as 21 positive Covid-19 cases from the first round of tests before the players entered the bio-bubble. Reports later emerged that teams had breached the bubble rules, holding unofficial practice sessions or hosting jersey launches, which led to positive cases.

Another effect of Covid-19 was the lack of DRS for the BPL, with technicians unwilling to travel to the country due to rising Omnicron cases. All the incidents were hindrances to the smooth conducting of the tournament, but the edition eventually started on the scheduled date.

The curious case of the captains

The sacking of Mehidy Hasan by Chattogram Challengers

Chattogram Challengers were in the news after abruptly removing Mehidy Hasan as the captain of the side despite the team winning two of three matches under him. Naeem Islam walked out as the skipper of the side against Sylhet Sunrisers, with Mehidy later stating that he has been “informed [of his removal] just before the start of the game.” Following the unceremonious sacking, Mehidy hinted at leaving the tournament and blamed the team’s chief operation officer Yasir Ali as the “leading culprit” for his sudden removal.

However, the BPL’s governing council suggested that Mehidy had been informed of the decision well in advance after they summoned the team’s owner Rifat Uzzaman. “We understand that the decision to replace Miraz as captain, which apparently triggered the misunderstanding, was communicated to the player by the management well in advance of the team’s ensuing match,” a BPL official later informed.

The player continues to participate in the tournament, while Naeem is the captain.

Sylhet Sunrisers name two different captains for the same match

Sylhet, who are at the bottom of the table, suddenly changed their captain right before the toss, as Ravi Bopara walked out against Khulna Tigers. Not only did the franchise not announce a reason for the change, what made things even more bizarre was that Mosaddek Hossain Saikat was listed as the skipper of the team in the team sheet that was sent to reporters before the game.

The side’s media manager later revealed that the change in captaincy was down to Mosaddek, who did not want to continue as captain. “Mosaaddek wanted to leave captaincy for the last few matches. The vice-captain Anamul Haque Bijoy wasn’t eager to do the captaincy either. Later, the coach talked with Bopara to take over the role.”

Mohammad Shahzad reprimanded for ‘smoking’ on the field

Afghanistan’s Mohammad Shahzad, playing for Dhaka, was seen with what looked like an e-cigarette on the ground during a rain-break against Comilla Victorians, which earned him a demerit point. The wicketkeeper was found guilty of breaching BCB’s Article 2.20 of the Code of Conduct, which is “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game.”

Reportedly, Dhaka coach Mizanur Rahman and player Tamim Iqbal warned Shahzad to not smoke on the field. The real question is was he really smoking, or was he vaping? Is there even a distinction? On second thought, maybe that’s not the real question.

What is going on with Sylhet?

The captaincy change from Mosaddek to Bopara is not the only reason Sylhet have made news in this BPL. Monday was, in particular, an interesting day for the franchise with a number of controversies and peculiar incidents coming out.

At first, pace bowler Taskin Ahmed was ruled out of the BPL due there to a back injury, with an MRI revealing that the pain was caused due to a previous injury. However, journalists in the know suggest that the reasons are mysterious, with the bowler and the franchise officials clashing over payment issues.

Bopara was later found tampering with the ball with his nails during the match against Khulna, which led to a five-run penalty. What made bigger news was that Nazmul Islam, the side’s top wicket-taker with eight wickets this season, and with the best economy rate, did not bowl a single delivery in the match against Khulna on Monday.

Opener Chris Gayle bats out 20 overs for 52*

West Indies opener Chris Gayle played an atypical innings against Sylhet Sunrisers on February 8, scoring a fifty and batting through the innings at a strike rate of 115.56 in a team score of 199-4. The big-hitter, one of the most aggressive batters in the format, has a T20 strike rate of  145.14 in 459 matches, failed to capitalise after getting his eye in, and batted 45 deliveries for 51*.

The Universe Boss struggled to time the ball, something that has rarely been seen, hitting only two sixes and four fours in his innings. Despite his slow-paced innings, the team ended with a formidable 199-4, with Munim Shahriar (51 in 28), Shakib Al Hasan (38 in 19) and Dwayne Bravo (34* in 13) playing crucial knocks to ensure that Gayle’s innings did not hurt the total much.

A run-out like no other!

Something truly bizarre, which aptly sums up BPL 2022. Andre Russell was run-out after the ball hit the ball at the striker’s end before ricocheting off to the set of stumps at the non-striker’s end to dismiss the West Indies all-rounder.

The incident occurred when Russell and Mahmudullah set off for a single against Khulna, with the fielder Tanzid Hassan taking an aim at the stumps at the striker’s end. It was a direct hit, but Mahmudullah was well inside his crease. However, the ball deflected and bounced down the track to hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end, and Russell was run-out after being found well short.

The all-rounder could not believe his fortune, and later took to Instagram to share a clip of the incident with the caption, “This is crazy!!!!!”

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