Taskin Ahmed on Missing Team Bus for India Game: ‘Not Because I Arrived Late’

Bangladesh’s vice-captain, Taskin Ahmed, clarified that his exclusion from the team for the India game was due to team strategy, not his late arrival.

“I was a bit late, but I got to the ground before the toss,” Taskin told Dhaka-based newspaper Ajker Patrika. “I reached the ground about 30-40 minutes before the toss. I missed the team bus, which left the hotel at 8:35 am. I left for the ground at 8:43 am and almost arrived with the bus. They didn’t leave me out because I was late; I wasn’t going to play anyway.”

For the game, Bangladesh replaced Taskin with Jaker Ali, with Mahedi Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan starting the bowling. Tamim Iqbal, speaking as an expert on ESPNcricinfo TimeOut, expressed surprise at Taskin’s exclusion. Taskin was back in the team for Bangladesh’s next match against Afghanistan on June 24.

ESPNcricinfo found out that Taskin wasn’t fined for the incident. Shakib mentioned on Tuesday that the issue was resolved after Taskin apologized, although it did make it “difficult” to select him for the India game.

“The bus leaves at a set time. It’s a rule that the team bus doesn’t wait for anyone,” Shakib told reporters. “If someone misses the bus, they can take the manager’s car or a taxi. West Indies is a tough place for transport. He arrived 5-10 minutes before the toss, so it was naturally hard for the team management to pick him. It was also tough for Taskin. He apologized, and everyone took it well. It was an honest mistake, and it ended there.”

The incident was also mentioned by BCB president Nazmul Hassan during a press conference after a board meeting on Tuesday. “When I saw Taskin wasn’t in the XI, I called team manager Rabeed Imam, who told me Taskin missed the team bus,” Hassan said. “But Rabeed said he was now on the field, just a bit late.”