'Big games need experienced umpire, respected by players': Sujon adds fuel to Jessy controversy

Abahani coach and Bangladesh Cricket Board director Khaled Mahmud Sujon echoed the same sentiments of the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) club officials who disapproved the appointment of umpire Shathira Jakir Jessy for the Prime Bank-Mohammedan fixture in Mirpur on Thursday.    

Sujon pointed out the lack of experience Jessy had in officiating DPL games but wrapped up his take, saying that an umpire ''who is respected by the players'' should've been appointed.

"In big matches, I think, there should be an umpire who has experience because the on-field pressure is a big thing," Sujon told reporters in Mirpur on Monday.

Jessy made history on Thursday when she became the first female umpire to officiate a DPL game as an on-field umpire. In March, she was named in the ICC development panel of umpires alongside three other female umpires from the country.

"Though I believe that the pressure that used to be there in Abahani-Mohammedan games is not really there in cricket these days anymore. However, you have to understand that a big team is playing, national team players are playing. So, you must have an umpire who is respected by the players," Sujon added.

Previously, chairman of BCB Umpires' Committee, Iftekhar Ahmed Mithu, told The Daily Star that the participating teams "were unhappy that BCB had appointed a female umpire, but the match had to go on. They did not make the complaint to me but did so to CCDM [Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis],"

Prime Bank team manager Sikder Abul Kashem Kongkon told The Daily Star that ''he expected umpires who regularly officiate in the DPL'' and was not aware of the fact that Jessy was to officiate the game, while Mohamedan's cricket organiser Tariqul Islam Titu said he ''expected better umpires''.

After agreeing to what the club officials had said a day before, Sujon said that the official in charge should take a good look when deciding which umpires would officiate games, especially the high-stakes contest.

"She might be a very good umpire who is definitely Bangladesh's future. She is a former national player as well. All in all, she definitely has a background in cricket. But as an umpire, I don't think her experience is enough to officiate such a big match in the [Dhaka] Premier League. My opinion is that we have to be wise and have to take a good look at who will umpire big matches in the Premier League," Sujon said.