BPL
BPL (Credits: Twitter)

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is once again in the news for all the wrong reasons. In the latest turn of events, the BPL is facing match-fixing allegations. The T20 league and controversy go hand-in-hand. The league had its first brush with controversy in 2012, before the tournament had even begun. Mashrafe Mortaza reported to team management that BPL matches could be fixed using a potential spot-fixing approach by a fellow cricketer.

Later, ex-Bangladesh spinner Shariful Haque was banned in September 2012 after an inquiry found him guilty of spot-fixing during the first edition of the BPL. In the following season, more allegations about match fixing emerged. In 2014, the entire nation was rocked when Bangladesh’s first Test centurion Mohammad Ashraful was found guilty of match-fixing. He was initially banned for eight years before the ban was reduced to 5 years with 2 years suspended.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma Reveals The No.1 Football Player In Indian Team

BPL in hot waters again:

Questions surrounding match fixing in BPL have been raised once again  following West Indian pacer Krishmar Santokie’s disastrous over during the game between Sylhet Thunder and Chattogram Challengers. The 34-year-old pacer left the cricket fans shaking their heads following two bizarre deliveries,

The first delivery was a wide against right-hander Avishka Fernando, so disastrous it forced the wicketkeeper to completely dive and stretch out to stop the ball from rolling away for a boundary. Two balls later, Santokie delivered an unbelievable no-ball which saw his front foot placed nearly a metre over the crease.

The incident brought back the memories of Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir’s infamous no-ball during the 2010 Lord’s Test which was later revealed to be due to spot-fixing. The commentators were shocked too after watching the two deliveries as they questioned how such a large overstep was possible.

“Have a look at this, that is incredible,” said one of the commentators.

“I don’t believe it. How far can you go forward? How can you miss that line,” said the other commentator.

Fans on social media were left equally as confused as the commentary team, including former Australian batsman Dean Jones.

Here are some of the reactions:

 

An avid cricket lover, I just love this game more than anything. Writing about cricket keeps me closer to the game.