WATCH, BPL | Shakib Al Hasan ends up in heated argument with umpires after bizarrely asking batters to swap strike

The Shakib Al Hasan-led Fortune Barishals registered a clinical victory against the Rangpur Riders in the second-round fixture of the Bangladesh Premier League at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Tuesday. The previous edition's runners-up chased down a target of 159 with four balls and six wickets to spare courtesy of Mehidy Hasan Miraz's flamboyant knock of 43 from just 29 deliveries. However, the seemingly-ordinary match soon became the talk of the cricketing fraternity less because of the action that had taken place between bat and ball and more due to an incident that occurred at the start of the second innings.

Anamul Haque and Chatarunga de Silva walked out to the crease for Barishal while the opposition skipper Nurul Hasan handed the new ball to left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan. Haque initially walked towards the batter's end to take strike but eventually swapped ends with de Silva as the fielders took their spots. However, amidst all the on-field happenings, an animated Shakib Al Hasan was seen screaming from beyond the boundary ropes at his batsmen to revert to the original plan and allow Anamul to face the first ball, given the bowler in question. When his instructions seemed to create some confusion in the middle, the Bangladesh legend decided to step onto the playing surface himself and instruct the batters.

Even as Shakib relayed his thoughts, the umpires intercepted his approach and got into a heated argument with the veteran. Apparently, Nurul had taken the new ball from Rakibul once he saw Anamul return to the striker's end but the game's law states that the onus lies on the fielding side to decide their opening ball first, following which the batsmen can choose who takes strike. Eventually, Shakib walked off dismayed as Rakibul took the new ball against de Silva but his instincts were eventually proven right as the batter lasted just three balls before being dismissed in the first over itself.