"Behaving so poorly is extremely disgusting"- Venkatesh Prasad blasts Shakib Al Hasan for on-field outbursts
Shakib Al Hasan has been the talk of the cricketing town after he lost his head not once but twice in the Dhaka Premier League between Mohammedan Sporting Club and Abahani Limited Dhaka. Venkatesh Prasad has lambasted the Bangladesh all-rounder for his "disgusting" behavior and setting a bad example for others, given his stature as an international cricketer.
Shakib lost his cool first when the umpire didn't give Mushfiqur Rahim LBW off the Kolkata Knight Riders star's bowling. The all-rounder then went on to kick the stumps in anger. He soon got into another argument with the umpire in the same game and uprooted the stumps in a fit of rage.
Venkatesh Prasad was disappointed with Shakib's behavior and stated on Twitter:
"Anger is futile, too much anger is destructive. For a player of Shakib's outstanding calibre, behaving so poorly is extremely disgusting. Earlier faced a two-year ban after a stellar world cup. A real pity to see such a wonderful player setting a bad example."
Venkatesh Prasad also highlighted the time when Shakib Al Hasan was handed a 12-month ban from international cricket. The Bangladesh star was found guilty of three charges under the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code in 2019, where he failed to report an approach from a bookie. The all-rounder returned to international cricket in 2021 after serving his ban.
"I apologise to the teams, management, tournament officials and organizing committee for this human error"- Shakib Al Hasan
After facing strong backlash from various quarters, Shakib Al Hasan took to Facebook to issue an apology where he termed his outburst a "human error."
"Dear fans and followers, I am extremely sorry for losing my temper and ruining the match for everyone, especially those who are watching from home. An experienced player like me should not have reacted that way but sometimes, against all odds, it happens, I apologise to the teams, management, tournament officials and organizing committee for this human error," said Shakib Al-Hasan on Facebook.
It remains to be seen whether the Bangladesh Cricket Board will hand out any punishment to their star all-rounder for the incident. Former cricketer Lisa Sthalekar has raised questions over whether we need cricketers like Shakib Al Hasan in our game.