Taskin Ahmed addresses claims that he overslept at the Twenty20 World Cup

Recently, Bangladeshi fast bowler Taskin Ahmed refuted claims that he overslept and missed his team’s T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 match against India as a result. The incident’s true circumstances have come to light with the responses from Ahmed and former captain Shakib Al Hasan to the controversy that had been raging.

Bangladesh performed admirably in the main event, placing second in Group D after South Africa, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands. After winning their group stage match against the Proteas, the squad progressed to the Super Eight stage with victories over Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, and Nepal.

They had trouble, though, losing all of their games against Afghanistan, Australia, and India in the Super Eight stage. The uproar surrounding his absence from the pivotal match against India has now forced Bangladesh’s vice captain, Ahmed, to speak out.

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

I had no intention of playing anyhow: Taskin Ahmed Ahmed stressed that his exclusion from the starting lineup was a decision made based on the makeup of the team, not because he was late.

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“I got to the pitch thirty or forty minutes before the throw. The team bus was missing from my schedule. At 8:35 a.m., the bus departed the hotel. 8.43 am was when I headed for the ground. With the bus, I nearly made it to the ground. It’s not like I arrived late and they didn’t pick me up. I wasn’t planning on playing anyhow,” he continued.

Shakib agreed with Ahmed’s explanation and expressed similar views to the quick bowler. He also mentioned the bowler’s apology to the group.

“Transportation is challenging in the West Indies. Naturally, the team management found it challenging to choose him because he came five to ten minutes before the toss. For the player, too, it was a challenging circumstance. When Taskin expressed regret to the team, everyone reacted as expected. The error was inadvertent. There was where it ended, Shakib said.