In Bangladesh, a teenage spectator was killed by a cricket umpire who struck him on the head with a bat during a dispute over a decision, police reported on Sunday.
Nazrul Islam, aged 15, entered the pitch during an amateur match in the remote northern district of Kishoreganj and began arguing with the umpire, who then grabbed a player’s bat and hit the teenager.
Though Islam showed no significant injury from the strike during the match on Friday, he experienced an internal hemorrhage overnight and unfortunately passed away in the hospital the next day, according to local police chief Mosharraf Hossain.
“The argument centered around a not-out call made by the umpire,” Hossain stated.
“He claimed the umpire was biased. At one point, angered, the umpire took a bat and struck the young boy on the head.”
Authorities are searching for the umpire for questioning, but he has gone into hiding, Hossain added.
Cricket enjoys immense popularity in Bangladesh, which co-hosted the World Cup with India and Sri Lanka last year.
by Rahndi Ghit
