The Bangladesh High Court has ruled that local authorities must provide an explanation for their decision not to lodge a complaint against former Pakistani cricketer Waqar Younis with the International Cricket Council (ICC) in order to have his name removed from the roster of commentators for the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023.
In reaction to Younis' comments regarding Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan during their World Cup match against Sri Lanka on Monday, the ruling on Wednesday was made. In that match, Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews was controversially "timed out," making history as the first man to be dismissed in the 146-year history of international cricket.
In addition, the court granted the president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) ten days to respond to the decision.
Judge Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Md Atabullah's bench rendered the decision following the initial hearing of a writ case brought forth by Supreme Court attorney Advocate Waliur Rahman Khan concerning this matter.
Waqar Younis was criticised in the writ for remarks he made concerning Shakib Al Hasan and cricket in Bangladesh. Shakib Al Hasan made the decision to file an appeal against former Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews' timed-out dismissal during the 38th game of this year's World Cup at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium. The ICC regulations include a timed-out rule, but it hasn't been used before. The process of getting Mathews a new helmet took over two minutes. When Shakib noticed the delay, he let the umpire know, and Mathews was declared timed out.
In the commentary box, Younis and former cricketer Russell Arnold of Sri Lanka denounced Shakib's actions, labelling the appeal as "unsportsmanlike behaviour."
Younis singled out Shakib in particular, criticising his conduct and Bangladesh's strategy, saying it went against the spirit of cricket.