After Bangladesh’s bitter rivals Sri Lanka booted them out of the Asia Cup cricket tournament following a heated verbal exchange, Bangladesh’s captain Shakib Al Hasan issued a warning to his team that they must keep their emotions in check.
After Bangladesh’s bitter rivals Sri Lanka booted them out of the Asia Cup cricket tournament following a heated verbal exchange, Bangladesh’s captain Shakib Al Hasan issued a warning to his team that they must keep their emotions in check. On Thursday, Sri Lanka advanced to the Super Four stage of the competition, which serves as a warmup for the Twenty20 World Cup. They did so by prevailing in a must-win encounter in Dubai by two wickets and with four balls to spare. Before the match, both teams engaged in a verbal sparring match in front of the media. Sri Lanka’s captain Dasun Shanaka said that Bangladesh was missing a world-class bowler in addition to Mustafizur Rahman and Shakib.
In response, the director of cricket operations for Bangladesh, Khaled Mahmud, stated, “I don’t see any (world-class) bowler in Sri Lanka either… we have at least two.”
The war of words has extended onto social media, with a tweet from a former captain of Sri Lanka’s team, Mahela Jayawardene, in which he said, “Looks like it’s time for (our) bowlers to show the quality and batters to demonstrate who they are on the field.”
Shakib denied that the off-field gossip had affected his players after the loss that ended their chances of winning the Asia Cup, but he agreed that his Bangladesh team needed to play with their brains more often.
“We are very sensitive to the situation. ‘That is the other area in which we need to develop,’ Shakib said, referring to the upcoming World Cup that will be held in Australia from October to November.
Put our feelings to the side and focus on the way we’re supposed to play the game. We are more interested in contributing with our minds than with our hearts at this point.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa, a batsman for Sri Lanka, extended an olive branch to the Bangladesh players and remarked that Shanaka’s comments were taken out of context.
Rajapaksa told reporters, “I don’t think the captain meant any wrong by the statement that he said,” and he believed this to be true.
“Of course, when you consider the dangerous bowlers from Afghanistan, what we meant was that we had a tiny advantage while going up against the bowlers from Bangladesh,”
In addition, Rajapaksa stated, “Like India and Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are likewise a good rivalry; yet, we are friends off the field.”
Certain statements could wound not only the athletes but also the coaching staff. However, what the captain was referring to was not what was reported in the media.
“By hook or by crook,” the saying goes.
Following a turbulent build-up, Bangladesh produced 183-7, a total that their bowlers were unable to defend successfully.
The lower order batsmen for Sri Lanka needed to score 25 runs in the final two overs, and they were successful thanks to the extra runs that were awarded to them as a result of wides and no balls bowled by the opposing team.
Both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were defeated by Afghanistan in their initial matches, and Afghanistan went on to win their group and advance to the Super Four.
Rajapaksa stated that his squad went into hiding following their eight-wicket pounding at the hands of Afghanistan, the same team that they will face once more on Saturday in the next round.
“It was pretty embarrassing for us, the 11 that played this game, and we did not anticipate to be bowled out for 105,” Rajapaksa said after the game. “We were not expecting to be bowled out for 105.”
After the loss, we went into a small shell for a couple of days, but we knew how to handle that circumstance. Of course, Afghanistan is a very decent side when it comes to T20s. But after the loss, we went into a small shell.
According to the hard-hitting left-hander, Sri Lanka is looking forward to getting another chance to play Afghanistan, who has developed into a legitimate challenger for the crown.
“What we planned was to beat Bangladesh by any means necessary,” he stated. “We didn’t care how we did it.”
