An “unacceptable” and “extreme” situation unfolded in Dhaka on Wednesday when South Africa bowler Tshepo Ntuli and Bangladesh batter Ripon Mondol got into a scuffle during the four-day red-ball match between Bangladesh Emerging Team and South Africa Emerging Team. The on-field umpires are yet to submit an official report on the incident, after which the sanctions will be announced.
South Africa Emerging side are currently up against Bangladesh in a red-ball series
The incident happened after Ripon scored a six against Ntuli. As he made his way to the other end of the pitch, towards his batting partner Mehidy Hasan, he exchanged glances with the bowler, after which the Ntuli stormed at him.
The two shoved each other, before Ntuli grabbed and pulled the batter’s helmet twice. Umpire Kamruzzaman immediately ran to intervene but did not get support from fellow players. In fact, a few South African players too, had joined Ntuli in charging at Ripon, who then removed his helmet.
The incident drew flak from commentators and on social media. “This is extreme, this is unacceptable. Normally we see verbal altercations in a cricket field but we don’t often see a scuffle. Ntuli struck Ripon’s helmet at one point,” Nabil Kaiser, one of the on-air commentators, said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
The fight did not end there. Three balls later, Ntuli hurled the ball towards the batter after Ripon had defended the delivery back towards the bowler. The batter managed to duck it.
According to ESPNCricinfo, BCB and CSA will receive the official report on the incident from the match referee, before the final action is taken.
This was not the first such incident during the campaign. Earlier, during the 50-over contest in Rajshahi, Andile Simelane and Jishan Alam were handed suspensions following their acts in the second match.
The ongoing red-ball match is the final game in the contest. Bangladesh had won the one-day leg 2-1, while the first four-day match had ended in a draw in Chattogram.