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On Monday, July 1, a top Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official confirmed a development on Taskin Ahmed’s absence from T20 World Cup 2024 match against India. Speaking with Cricbuzz, the BCB official confirmed that the Bangladesh pacer and vice-captain, Taskin Ahmed missed the team bus as he could not get up from his sleep.
After confirming this development, Cricbuzz understood that the BCB kept one official of the touring party in the team hotel as the pacer did not respond. As a result, the Head Coach Chandika Hathurusingha decided to not pick him in the XI. "It is true that he (Taskin) joined the team later after missing the team bus," said the official on Monday.
"But why he did not play only the coach can say because whether he was in the plan or not (against India) is something that can be answered by the head coach (Chandika Hathurusingha)," he said. "If there was any issue (between coach and the player) how he played the next game against Afghanistan," he said. "He apologized to his teammates and everyone for not being able to get up on time and that's it and no need to make an issue out of it," he added.
The Bangladesh Head Coach, Hathurusingha has not made any official comment in this regard when contacted, Taskin’s compatriot Shakib Al Hasan opted to speak up on the matter.
Taskin Ahmed denies being dropped for oversleeping and missing team bus
The Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed has now found himself in hot soup after a top BCB official confirmed that he overslept and missed the team bus for match against India at the T20 World Cup 2024. The 29-year-old has refuted these claims and stated that his exclusion was based on team combination reasons.
In an interview with the Dhaka-based newspaper Ajker Patrika, Taskin put forward his side of the story. He acknowledged being late to the ground, but claimed that he had arrived 30-40 minutes before the toss. “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,” he said as quoted by PTI.
“I missed the team bus. The bus left the hotel at 8:35 am. I left for the ground at 8:43 am. 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 further added. Although Taskin apologised for his actions, veteran all-rounder and former captain Shakib Al Hasan expressed the pacer’s late arrival “difficult” for him to get selected.
"The bus usually leaves at a certain time. It is the rule that the team bus doesn't wait for anyone. 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," the all-rounder said.
