Bangladesh cricket was jolted yesterday after fast bowler Taskin Ahmed and spinner Arafat Sunny were suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect. An International Cricket Council statement announced the suspension of the two bowlers, who were replaced in the squad by all-rounder Shuvagata Hom and spinner Saqlain Sajib. The duo left here for Bangalore yesterday night.
The ICC dished out the verdict following independent assessments of Taskin and Sunny’s bowling actions. Sunny’s analysis revealed that his elbow extension exceeded the 15-degree tolerance level permitted under the ICC Regulations for the Review of Bowlers Reported with Suspected Actions.
Taskin though might have been suspended but not all of his deliveries were found to be illegal.
Bangladesh arrived to the 2016 World Twenty20 on the back of a fine finish in the Asia Cup T20 earlier this month where they ended up as the runners-up side. Their start in the World T20 however, was anything but pleasant, despite the first-round victories over the Netherlands and Oman.
Pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman has missed out on all the action in the flagship event so far and the Tigers’ miseries were compounded yesterday, courtesy the suspensions of Taskin and Sunny.
In his prompt reaction to the news, Bangladesh team manager Khaled Mahmud said, “It is a big blow for us that two of our best bowlers have been suspended in international cricket. We did not anticipate this, especially with Taskin.
We have nothing much to do with the issue, to be honest, we are here to play cricket and we are a professional unit.
There is no use thinking much about it. Now, we are rather thinking of the team combination in the upcoming matches.
The coach (Chandika Hathurusingha) and captain (Mashrafe bin Mortaza) are planning on that.
“ICC has sent us a long report. We are going through it. At times, words have different meanings and explanations so we are looking into the report. The [Bangladesh Cricket] board will decide what to do next.”
Mahmud added that both Taskin and Sunny are going through a tough time at the moment.
“They are disappointed. It is usual when you suddenly get to know that you are suspended from international cricket. But we are with them and they have our full support.
Al Amin Hossain had also faced the same issue but he is back now and we are trying to do the same with Taskin and Sunny. Hope we will be able to make them understand and make them come out of the tough times,” said the former Tigers skipper.
Taskin and Sunny’s bowling actions came into question following the Dutch clash in the first round. Although the duo have been suspended from bowling in international cricket, they can still take part in the domestic competitions, subject to the approval of the BCB.
Meanwhile, while justifying the decision to select Shuvagata and Saqlain as replacements, national selector Habibul Bashar said, “Saqlain has been around the national team for quite some time now. He has performed for the [Bangladesh] A team. Saqlain was our second choice after Sunny. We believe he will be effective in Indian conditions.”
The inclusion of Shuvagata in place of Taskin raised a few eyebrows but Bashar defended the selection, saying, “We had five pacers in the squad due to the condition in Dharamsala. But now we feel that we do not need more than three pacers in the playing XI due to the condition [in Bangalore and Kolkata]. The team management also wanted an extra spinner. That made us select Shuvagata.”