Afghanistan's Mohammad Shahzad smokes on the ground
At one stage, Shahzad started to smoke an electric cigarette. Dhaka's media manager noticed that and tried to refrain him from smoking.
Athletes generally stay away from smoking and drugs in order to keep themselves fit. An athlete smoking on the ground is not a familiar sight at all. But this unpleasant incident took place at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium as Minister Dhaka's Afghanistan recruit Mohammad Shahzad was seen smoking while waiting for the evening game between Minister Dhaka and Comilla Victorians to begin.
At that time, Shahzad was accompanied by his compatriots Karim Janat and Fazalhaq Farooqi. Farooqi is Shahzad's teammate in the Dhaka team while Janat is playing for Comilla.
The day game between Fortune Barishal and Sylhet Sunrisers was called off due to rain. Rain stopped in the afternoon and the groundsmen began to make the ground ready for the second game. At around 6.15 pm, some cricketers of the Comilla and Dhaka team set foot on the ground. The players included Shahzad and his two compatriots.
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They were standing beside the practice nets, gossiping. L
But the Afghanistan player did not pay heed to him. Then Dhaka coach Mizanur Rahman and opener Tamim Iqbal intervened and almost forcefully took a visibly irritated Shahzad to the dressing room.
Regarding this incident, BCB's chief match referee and convener of the technical committee Rokibul Hasan told The Business Standard, "It contradicts the code of conduct. Smoking on the ground is strictly prohibited. It's unacceptable. If he [Shahzad] is not aware of this, the match officials should warn him."
