The decision was extremely surprising since Taskin was the vice-captain and had also attended the pre-match press conference.
The Bangladesh team put up a spirited effort in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup 2024, managing to advance from the group-stages to the Super 8s. They ousted teams like Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Nepal to book their place in the Super 8s stage.
However, the Bangla Tigers failed to cross the Super 8s hurdle, failing to register any wins after being outclassed by the likes of India, Australia and Afghanistan.
Interestingly, during their match against India, Bangladesh did not field one of their star bowlers – Taskin Ahmed.
The decision invited criticism since not only was Taskin deputy to skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto but was also an integral part of Bangladesh’s bowling attack and has performed well in the tournament thus far. The only possible explanation could have been that the management wanted an extra batter in Jaker Ali, in an attempt to match India’s batting strength.
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It was an unexpected decision, especially since Bangladesh had sent Taskin to attend the pre-match press conference the day before, indicating no prior intention to exclude him from the game. This raised the possibility of an injury occurring in the interim, although no such explanation was provided.
A report from Cricbuzz revealed that Taskin missed the team bus on the morning of the match due to oversleeping in his hotel room. In response, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) left an official at the hotel as the team proceeded to the stadium, attempting to handle the situation since Taskin did not answer his phone despite multiple calls. He eventually reached the stadium late and apologized to his teammates for the delay.
There appears to be no lasting damage to the relationship between the player and the team management.
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