Bangladesh star Taskin Ahmed has refuted the reports of getting dropped from Playing XI for the T20 World Cup clash against India after he overslept and missed the team bus. Taskin, vice-captain of the Bangladesh team, missed out on the crucial Super 8 clash in the mega ICC event. The Bangla Tigers made a change to their XI from their last match and replaced Taskin with Jaker Ali. They went ahead with just 2 pacers against India and lost the match in Antigua by 50 runs.
According to a report filed by Cricbuzz, a BCB official has revealed that Taskin issued an apology after missing the team bus. The BCB official mentioned that Taskin had overslept and hadn’t picked up his phone.
The Bangladesh all-rounder decided to come forward and shut all the rumours and admitted that he was a bit late but arrived at the ground on time.
“I was a little late, but I reached at the ground before the toss,” ESPN Cricinfo quoted Taskin as saying to Dhaka-based newspaper Ajker Patrika.
“I arrived at the ground around 30-40 minutes before the toss. I missed the team bus. The bus left the hotel at 8.35am,” he added.
The 29-year-old revealed that he was not supposed to play the match as the management had already decided to go with a different combination.
“I left for the ground at 8.43am. I almost reached the ground with the bus. It is not as if they didn’t pick me because I arrived late. I wasn’t going to play anyway,” he added.
Taskin made his way back into the playing XI for Bangladesh’s next game, against Afghanistan on June 24.
Although Taskin apologised for his actions, veteran all-rounder and former captain Shakib Al Hasan said the pacer’s late arrival made it “difficult” for him to be selected.
“The bus usually leaves at a certain time. It is the rule that the team bus doesn’t wait for anyone,” Shakib told reporters on Tuesday.
The veteran all-rounder asserted that Taskin arrived just 5-10 minutes before the toss but called it an unintentional mistake.
“If by chance someone misses the bus, they can arrive in the managers’ car or a taxi. West Indies is a difficult place for transport. He arrived 5-10 minutes before the toss, so naturally it was difficult for the team management to select him.
“It was also a difficult situation for the player. Taskin apologised to the team, and everyone took it very normally. It was an unintentional mistake. It ended there.”
