Dilshan blasted for bumping into Imrul

The player also fined Tk 30,000
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Chittagong Vikings’ Sri Lankan cricketer Tillakaratne Dilshan has become centre of all criticism after his deliberate attempt to run out Comilla Victorians’ Imrul Kayes during their Thursday’s Bangladesh Premier League match in Chittagong.
Dilshan was accused of acting against the spirit of the game by bumping into Imrul that left everyone present at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium shocked.
The shameful act, unbecoming of a cricketer as experienced as Dilshan, not only cost his team five runs as penalty during the match, but also earned himself a fine of Tk 30,000.
Match referee Neeyamur Rashid handed out the fine as Dilshan’s action appeared to be seriously damaging the spirit of the game.
‘It was not expected from a cricketer of his stature,’ Neeyamur told New Age on Friday.
‘He could have been handed a lesser fine [Tk 20,000] but we wanted to take exemplary action so that everyone can understand the importance of game’s true spirit,’ he said.
Dilshan left everyone stunned when he bumped into Imrul as the opener and Victorians’ Pakistani cricketer Ahmed Shehzad attempted a single during the fourth ball of the second over.
Imrul Kayes fell down after the collision while his partner Shehzad reached towards the striker’s end leaving both the batsmen ended up in the same end.
Dilshan recollected the ball to throw it towards the bowlers’ end leaving Shehzad apparently run out.
Imrul protested for obstruction before Chittagong captain Tamim Iqbal stepped in and calmed the batsman down and told the umpires that he would accept any verdict.
On field umpires Mahfuzur Rahman and Morshed Ali Khan referred it to the third umpire Anisur Rahman, who, after watching several replays, awarded five penalty runs to Victorians according to Law 42 (5).
Tamim said he would have called back the batsman anyway if he was shown the video of the incident.
‘If the video was shown to me then I would call back Imrul even if he was given out by umpire’ Tamim told reporters after the match.
‘I am not sure whether any cricketer can do it intentionally. It perhaps happened at the heat of the moment.
‘I won’t say whether he did it deliberately though it appeared to be the case [in the footage],’ said Tamim.
Victorians skipper Masharfee bin Murtaza was little diplomatic speaking about the issue during the post match.
‘The decision of the umpires certifies everything,’ said Mashrafee. ‘We are happy with the decision. It justified what happened on the ground.
‘I don’t know whether it was deliberate but all I can say is that people expect lesser mistakes from experienced cricketers,’ he said.
Victorians beat Vikings by five wickets, which effectively ended the side’s semi-final hopes.
Source: New Age