Akbar Ali banned for two matches in NCL after chair-breaking incident
With just two rounds remaining in this season's NCL, Akbar Ali will now face an extended absence from the competition, further highlighting the challenges he must overcome to rebuild his standing in domestic cricket.
Akbar Ali, the under-19 World Cup-winning captain, has been handed a two-match suspension for breaching the National Cricket League's (NCL) Code of Conduct.
The ban follows a recent incident in which the Rangpur Division captain broke a chair in anger during a match against Barishal, resulting in disciplinary action from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
The incident unfolded on 19th November at Shaheed Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi, during a National Cricket League match.
While fielding, Akbar was involved in a heated exchange with the umpire, and his frustration grew when he was dismissed while batting.
In an outburst of anger, he threw his bat and subsequently broke a chair, a clear violation of the BCB's Code of Conduct, specifically a Level-2 breach. This led to Akbar's suspension for the next two rounds of the competition.
Field umpires Mahfuzur Rahman and Sohorab Hossain, along with the experienced match referee Akhtar Ahmed, submitted their report on the incident. As a result, Akbar Ali will miss the upcoming sixth-round match against Dhaka Metro, starting 22 November, and the subsequent match against Khulna.
Despite his strong performance as the captain of Bangladesh's under-19 team, where he led them to victory in the 2020 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, Akbar's career has been marred by off-field controversies. This latest incident is a blow to his reputation, especially considering his struggles to establish himself in international cricket.