Taskin Ahmed, Bangladesh's vice-captain and pace bowler, missed the team's Super Eight match against India in the T20 World Cup as he overslept and missed the team bus.
A source from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), who was part of the team management, confirmed the incident to UNB, saying it was the first time in recent memory that a player had missed the team bus on match day.
Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh all-rounder who left Dhaka for the USA on Wednesday, also confirmed Taskin's tardiness. He will play in the Major League Cricket in the USA.
“These things (waking someone up from sleep) don't happen in cricket. There are no rules in cricket that say the entire team should wait like this for someone at the hotel. The team never waits,” Shakib stated.
“When we were playing age-level cricket, we remember instances where a cricketer was running behind the bus, but the door closed, and the bus left. The whole team doesn't stop for one person,” he added.
As Taskin failed to arrive on time, Jaker Ali replaced him in the match against India, which Bangladesh ultimately lost.
Taskin had previously played four matches and taken seven wickets, making his absence against India a significant loss for the team.
“Taskin probably reached the field just around 10 minutes before the match,” Shakib added. “It was tough for the team management to include him in the playing XI.”
Shakib also said Taskin offered an apology to the team, and the team accepted that.
MSH
