Umpires Missed Afghanistan Captain's Illegal 11th Over – BCB Wants Answers

Dr. Annelies De Vos · 2026-10-26

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has officially challenged match officials after Afghanistan captain Sohail Khan bowled an illegal 11th over in the third Youth One-Day International. The match took place at Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman on October 21, 2026. According to standard 50-over rules, each bowler is limited to a maximum of 10 overs. Khan clearly exceeded that limit, and Bangladesh wasted no time in raising the issue. ### Official Complaint Filed with ACB and Match Referee Bangladesh management alerted the on-field umpires immediately and backed up their claim with video evidence. They sent a formal complaint to match referee Yasir Latifzai and the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB). The BCB's game development committee, which oversees youth cricket, emailed the ACB about officiating standards across the series. Bangladesh Under-19 head coach Hannan Sarkar confirmed that team management held two lengthy meetings with Latifzai in Muscat. > "We have written about the umpiring decisions in the captain's report, and added a special note, specifically mentioning the eleven overs in question," Sarkar said. Sarkar explained that standard captain's report forms don't have a dedicated section for over-quota breaches. So, Bangladesh added a supplementary note to record the incident officially. A BCB official said the board's motive was simple: "We have written to them to simply make them aware of what was happening. We warned them to be more careful next time." ### How Did the 11th Over Slip Through? In 50-over cricket, each bowler is allowed a maximum of 10 overs. Sohail Khan is Afghanistan's captain and primary strike bowler. According to Sarkar, another Afghan bowler was originally set to bowl the over. That player walked to the crease and handed his cap to the umpire. But Khan suddenly changed the plan and decided to bowl the over himself. The initial bowler took back his cap, and Khan began his 11th over. The officials failed to notice the quick switch. Instead of logging Khan as the bowler, the scorer credited all six deliveries to Shah Faisal Rahimi. Rahimi didn't bowl a single ball in that over. This recording mistake kept Khan's official tally at 10 overs on the scorecard, even though he actually bowled 11. ### Dugout Tracking Uncovers the Breach Bangladesh's coaching staff didn't have direct contact with the official scorer. The team manager followed the live scorecard on Cricinfo via his phone, while the team analyst kept manual records from the dugout. The analysts confirmed Khan had already bowled his full quota. But by the time officials noticed, Khan had already started his 11th over. Bangladesh staff notified the on-field umpires right after the over ended. Since Khan had already bowled all six balls, the umpires allowed play to continue. That prompted Bangladesh to lodge a formal post-match protest. The BCB's complaint highlights ongoing concerns about umpiring standards in youth cricket and could lead to stricter oversight in future series.