By Mir Afroz Zaman
Dhaka, Jan 1( UNI): Bangladesh National team batsman Sabbir Rahman has been stripped of the central contract with Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for assaulting a cricket fan during a 19th National Cricket League (NCL) match.
Sabbir has been banned for six months from domestic cricket also and fined Tk 20 lakh as he was found guilty for breaching the BCB's code of conduct level-4.
BCB President Nazmul Hasan announced the punitive actions after a disciplinary committee meeting at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Monday.
The assault took place on December 21 during the second day's play of the NCL match between Rajshahi and Dhaka Division at Shaheed Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi.
Sabbir called someone to bring in the fan from the stands. The fan allegedly taunted him and provoked him during the match.
According to reports, after a supporter made a noise directed at Sabbir during one of the innings breaks, Sabbir took permission from the on-field umpires to leave the ground and then went behind the sightscreen to physically abuse the young boy, who had apparently been brought into the playing area by an acquaintance of Sabbir.
The incident was supposedly first seen by the reserve umpire who reported it to the match referee, who in turn reported it to the BCB's cricket operations committee chairman Akram Khan, who then forwarded it to the board's disciplinary committee.
According to the sources, Sabbir was also quite aggressive with match referee Showkatur Rahman, when he called him in on the third day of the game to investigate the incident.
Sabbir faced disciplinary action a number of times in the past, the most severe case of which was in 2016 when the BCB fined him Tk 12 lakh (US$14,000 approx) for "serious off-field disciplinary breaches" during the Bangladesh Premier League.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh cricket team opener Tamim Iqbal has also been fined Tk 5 lakh for making comments on the pitch and the outfield during the 5th BPL.
The BCB president said his comments regarding the outfield tarnished the image of Bangladesh as they were handed two demerit points by ICC after Australia's Bangladesh tour due to inadequate outfield conditions.
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