Case filed against Mashrafe over alleged forcible takeover of BPL franchise

A case has been filed against former Bangladesh national cricket team captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza at Pallabi Police Station in Dhaka, accusing him of forcibly acquiring ownership of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) team, Sylhet Strikers.

Former owner of the team Sarwar Golam Chowdhury filed the case on Sunday night, Pallabi Police Station OC Nazrul Islam confirmed this.

The other defendants named in the case include Helal Bin Yusuf Shuvro, Md Imam Hasan, an unidentified official from the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies, KM Russell, and Babul. In addition, 10 to 15 unnamed individuals have also been listed as accused.

OC Nazrul stated, "This is not a political case, but rather a business dispute. Mashrafe has been named the main accused, along with five others."

In the lawsuit, the plaintiff, Sarwar Golam Chowdhury, alleged that while at Mashrafe's office, an individual named Helal Bin Yusuf Shuvro forcibly took ownership of the parent company of Sylhet Strikers -- Future Sports Bangladesh Limited -- from him.

Chowdhury further claimed that during the incident, a revolver was pointed at his head.

According to the lawsuit, in 2023, Mashrafe and his associates allegedly took shares worth Tk 45 million (Tk 4.5 crore) by force. Despite this, they did not pay for the shares and instead threatened to kill him.