Bangladesh bowler Taskin Ahmed admitted to missing the team bus before a crucial T20 World Cup match against India. However, he denied that this incident was the reason he was not selected to play in the match, reports UNB.
Earlier this week, a private TV station reported that Taskin was late to wake up and missed the team bus, indicating that this was the reason behind the team management leaving him out of the match against India.
The Bangladesh team management included Jaker Ali in that match to replace Taskin. The fact that Jaker is not a pace bowler like Taskin indicates that the team planned to include an extra batter to strengthen the batting line.
Taskin's post:
“I would like everyone to know that most of the news and information being spread are nothing more than rumors, and I would hope that the fans treat it as such,” Taskin wrote in a statement on his social media handle.
He also said that he reached the venue at 9:40 am local time, 20 minutes before the toss. He then sang the national anthem with the team before the match, which began at 10:30 am local time.
“It’s quite unfortunate that these so-called sports journalists are printing news based on rumors and without verification, trying to tarnish my image as a player of the national cricket team,” Taskin’s statement further reads.
“I know I made an honest mistake by not getting on the team bus on time, but I was at the stadium before the toss,” it adds.
Taskin also said he would take legal action to address such “frivolous issues like this” in the future “to ensure no one tries to malign my reputation or integrity as a sportsman or a human being”.
However, an earlier statement by Shakib Al Hasan painted a different picture. The Bangladesh allrounder said Taskin reached the venue just 10 minutes before the match, indicating that this was the reason behind leaving Taskin out of the playing XI.
Bangladesh won three matches, their most in a single edition of a T20 World Cup, out of the seven they played. However, they failed to win a crucial match against Afghanistan, which could have secured their first-ever semifinal berth. That defeat nearly erased all the good that the Bangladesh team has done in the World Cup.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
