Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza wore the look of a man about to enter into battle without his weapons. The suspension of key bowlers, pacer Taskin Ahmed and left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny, just one match into the ICC World T20, has understandably broken the spirit of Mortaza and his team.
On Saturday, the pair — the two most successful bowlers for Bangladesh in its first Super10 stage encounter against Pakistan a few days ago — were barred from bowling in international cricket, after their actions were found to be illegal.
Speaking at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday, Mortaza stated that the squad is in shock. The skipper came out in support of both Taskin and Sunny, but was emphatic in his assertion that Taskin did not deserve this fate.
“If two of your boys at home are in trouble, you cannot focus on your work. You will be dispirited. It’s like that with our team now. This is a big blow; a big shock,” Mortaza said, on the eve of Bangladesh’s crucial match against Australia.
“There is nothing wrong with Taskin’s action. We will speak to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). The BCB will then discuss it with the ICC. The ICC has always encouraged young cricketers, and I hope that they do the same with Taskin. We are talking about one of the most promising young fast bowlers in our country — someone whom we think will serve us for the next ten years. All we want is justice. The board has to take up the matter. We (players) can’t do anything without the board,” Mortaza said.
The all-rounder questioned the logic of Taskin’s suspension. “Taskin was reported after a match (World T20 round one match against Netherlands, on March 9). The tests were done accordingly. We have gone through the footage — not a single delivery that he bowled in that match was illegal. How then can he be suspended? There were some issues during the testing. Not with his full-length deliveries, but with his bouncers. But we have seen that he didn’t bowl any bouncers in that game. Do you still suspend him or not?,” he asked.
Speaking about Sunny’s absence, the all-rounder said, “Sunny has been bowling well in the qualifiers and in the last match as well. Maybe we will accept the decision on Sunny, but we believe that Taskin’s action is legal.”
The 32-year-old explained that recent events have come as a distraction — something the unit can barely afford, having already lost its opening Super10 fixture. “It’s tough, but we know that all the people of Bangladesh are with us,” Mortaza said.
