On Saturday, September 30, the Celebrity Cricket League which was organized at Dhaka’s indoor stadium devolved into a boxing ring with ‘celebrities’ from their film industry hurling punches and blows at each other. The ‘friendly’ match was being played to motivate the Bangladesh team ahead of the upcoming 2023 Cricket World Cup, however, it took an unexpected turn during a group match between filmmakers Mostafa Kamal Raz and Dipankar Dipon.
Some media reports suggest that during the match, a verbal altercation broke out between the members of the two teams over a wrong decision by the umpire. Local media house Dhaka Tribune report added that it all started over sledging.
It said that during the match after the umpire made a wrong decision, Raz’s team began sledging Dipankar Dipon’s players, which enraged the latter. A scuffle ensued with the ‘celebrities’ pushing, punching and slapping each other. Soon they started using cricket bats to hit each other. The two groups even threw chairs at each other. Six people were reportedly injured in the brawl.
The injured people were identified as Shishir Sardar, Raj Ripa, Joy Chaudhry, Atiq Rehman, Sheikh Shuvo, and Ashiq Jahid.
A video of Bangladeshi actress Raj Ripa crying over the umpire’s wrong verdict also went viral on social media. Accusing the management of match-fixing, she claimed that the umpire should have actually her a four on that particular bowl as the fielder’s foot hit the boundary.
Reports also said that Raj Ripa said on social media that Mustafa Kamal Raj would be responsible if anything happened to her career and accused his team of throwing water bottles at her.
Joy Chowdhury, a member of Dipankar Dipon’s team, meanwhile, alleged that producer Raj threatened to kill actor Manoj Praman. He also accused the organizers of match-fixing and warned of legal action.
The tournament eventually had to be cancelled. Dipankar Dipon and the organizers stated that they would be issuing an official statement and explanation for what transpired.