Taskin Ahmed responds to rumours of being dropped after missing team bus ahead of India game

Bangladeshi star cricketer and vice captain Taskin Ahmed apologised to his teammates for arriving late to play after missing the team bus during their Super 8 match against India in the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup 2024. The senior BCB official confirmed the report under the condition of confidentiality. He said that the star bowler was unable to get up in time from his sleep and missed the team bus. Many people took notice when Bangladesh decided to bench Taskin from the playing XI and only field two pace bowlers against India in their Super 8 match.

Notably, the only two pacers that played for Bangladesh against an in-form Indian team at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium were Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Mustafizur Rahman. On the other hand, Indian batters Hardik Pandya (50), Rohit (23), Virat Kohli (37), Rishabh Pant (36), and Shivam Dube (34) played well to earn a comfortable 50-run win over Bangladesh. This loss by the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led side knocked them out of the playoff race. Bangladesh failed to register even a single win in the Super Eight stage as they were thrashed by Australia, India, and Afghanistan.

In the same vein, Taskin Ahmed responded to the speculations around his absence from the squad for their T20 World Cup 2024 Super Eight match against India. The 29-year-old cricketer stated that his absence from the match was not due to his failure to make the team bus on the morning of the North Sound encounter.

Also Read: Three IPL stars added to India's squad for Zimbabwe T20Is

I wasn't going to play anyway: Taskin Ahmed

Mahedi Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan began the bowling for Bangladesh as they decided to bring in Jaker Ali for Taskin in the match. However, the star pacer was back in the starting lineup for Bangladesh's match against Afghanistan. The Dhaka-born cricketer reiterated that he was not punished for the incident, and Shakib Al Hasan acknowledged the fact that the matter was settled after his apology.

"I was a little late, but I reached at the ground before the toss. 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. 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," Taskin Ahmed told Dhaka-based newspaper Ajker Patrika.

Also Read: Team India set to land in Delhi, report reveals plans to return back home

For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram and YouTube