BCB chief launches scathing attack on ICC over Taskin Ahmed suspension
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief Nazmul Hasan Papon has launched a scathing attack on the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the manner in which the sport’s governing body has handled the suspect bowling action case involving Taskin Ahmed, the 20-year-old fast bowler who was suspended from bowling during the ongoing World T20 along with teammate Arafat Sunny, claiming that Bangladesh has been victimised unfairly.
“Everyone knows about it (propagandas against Bangladesh). Let them do all these things to Bangladesh if it makes them happy. We will have to keep on playing under these difficult situations. We have nothing much to say,” the BCB chief said, as reported by The Indian Express.
The Asian minnows, who have been enjoying an upswing in fortunes, especially in the shorter formats over the last year or so, had high hopes coming into the World T20 despite being paired in the Group of Death along with Trans-Tasman rivals Australia and New Zealand as well as Asian heavyweights and arch-rivals, India and Pakistan. Their preparations were dealt a big blow, however, after Taskin and Arafat were reported for suspect action following Bangladesh’s qualifier match against the Netherlands.
The duo underwent assessment in Chennai before being picked for Bangladesh’s World T20 opener against Pakistan where both players took two wickets each in a losing cause. Much to their dismay, though, the ICC later announced that both Taskin and Arafat were banned from bowling with immediate effect till they apply for further tests with a remodelled action.
The BCB chief feels the move was unfair and challenged the ICC to ban any bowler from any other country if they were really serious about tackling the menace of bowling with an illegal action.
“If anyone thinks that I am wrong, they should come and prove me wrong. The ICC still has the opportunity to prove me wrong. The World Cup is still ongoing, let’s see if they can suspect two bowlers of any team and suspend them. Let them set an example, then I will have nothing to say on Taskin issue. I cannot accept a suspension that has come for no reason and against a key bowler of a team.
“All my life I knew that a bowler gets suspended if he bowls an illegal delivery in a particular game. But Taskin got suspended despite not having bowled any illegal delivery in that game (against the Netherlands). This has happened for the first time in history,” an irate Nazmul said.
“The match referee (Andy Pycroft) had said all of his deliveries in that game were suspicious but during the test, none of the deliveries were found illegal. So, this is a new learning curve for us in that a bowler can get suspended in this way. This is something new to us,” he added.