TASKIN AHMED RESPONDS TO CLAIMS OF OVERSLEEPING, MISSING BANGLADESH TEAM BUS FOR INDIA GAME

Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed added a surprising twist to the saga surrounding his absence from the T20 World Cup match against India. While he admitted to oversleeping and missing the team bus, he also clarified that his late arrival wasn't the sole reason for him not playing.

Ahmed admitted to missing the bus and said, "I was a little late, but I reached 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 8:35 a.m., and I left for the ground at 8:43 a.m. I almost reached the ground with the bus. It is not as if they didn't pick me up because I arrived late. I wasn't going to play anyway," Taskin told Dhaka-based newspaper Ajker Patrika.

Earlier, according to a report in Cricbuzz, a top BCB official had confirmed that Taskin had indeed missed the team bus as he could not wake up on time.

"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 apologised to his teammates and everyone for not being able to get up on time, and that's it, and there's no need to make an issue out of it," he added.

Later, veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan said on Tuesday that the matter had ended after Taskin issued an apology.

2024-07-03T07:24:52Z dg43tfdfdgfd