Bangladesh skipper Shakib-Al-Hasan has played down the controversy between the two sides moments after he lost the toss in what could be a potential eliminator match at the Asia Cup 2022 against Sri Lanka. The game which will end the dreams of lifting the Asia Cup trophy of one of the two teams was bound be an intense clash but nobody expected a war of words at the pre-match press conference. It all began when Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka said that Bangladesh are an easier opponent than Afghanistan.
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“Afghanistan has a world-class bowling attack. We know Fizz (Mustafizur Rahman) is a good bowler. Shakib (Al Hasan) is a world-class bowler.”
“But apart from them, there is no world-class bowler in the side. So if we compare with Afghanistan, Bangladesh is an easier opponent,” Shanaka had said in a press conference after Sri Lanka lost to Afghanistan.
Meanwhile when Shakib was asked about this whole affair, he chose to play it down.
“We wanted to field first, but that’s not in our control. We didn’t bat well against Afghanistan, but today is a different day. We have three changes in our team, we have made quite a few changes. Hopefully, that will work for us today. We want to play some good cricket today, we are not concerned about what is being talked in the media,” said Shakib after New Zealand great Scott Styris asked him about the “controversy” at the toss.
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After Shanaka’s remarks, Sri Lanka assistant coach Naveed Nawaz said “it’s hard to agree with that.” On the eve of the much-anticipated clash, Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud directly countered the comments made by Shanaka.
“I don’t know why Dasun made that comment. Definitely, Afghanistan has a better squad. He said we have only two bowlers in our line-up, but I don’t see any bowlers in Sri Lanka. At least Bangladesh has world-class bowlers like Mustafiz and Shakib. They don’t even have that. It is not about the words. It is about how you play the game.”
Mahmud’s comments caught the eye of Sri Lanka legend and former captain Mahela Jayawardene, who urged the Shanaka-led unit to respond back to Bangladesh on the field. “Looks like it’s time for @OfficialSLC bowlers to show the class and batters to show who they are on the field,” tweeted Jayawardene.
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