The India-Bangladesh post-match press conference went into unexpected territory when captain Shakib Al Hasan found himself being part of an awkward, bizarre conversation with a journalist in Adelaide.
Bangladesh lost their T20 World Cup Group 2 game against India by five runs, via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method. After the match, all eyes at the press conference would have been on Shakib, who went through a range of visible emotions in a see-saw match. Apart from the nerve-wracking cricket, a rain delay in the middle saw Shakib animatedly chat with the umpires, after engaging in a [seemingly more playful] conversation with the umpires after Virat Kohli had gestured towards the umpire for a no-ball during India’s innings.
A smiling Shakib fielded questions from the media after the game, but the first query itself nearly stumped him.
“Shakib, bad luck,” began the journalist. “Did you really try not to play after the rain or what was the discussion that was going through [with the umpires]?”
The journalist had been referring to the goings-on during the rain break in the Bangladesh innings. At that point, they had raced to 66-0 in 7 overs in their pursuit of 185, and were ahead of the DLS par score. Towards the end of the break, with the rain easing up, Shakib was seen animatedly talking to the umpires [who soon deemed the field fit to play], with Rohit Sharma next to him also involved in the chat. The revised equation required them to score 85 in nine overs.
“Do we have any option?” Shakib responded with a smile.
“No, no option. So that’s the reason … so did you try to convince him?”
“Convince whom?” asked Shakib gently, still smiling.
“The umpire, and of course, Rohit Sharma, and…,” continued the journalist.
At this point, Shakib interjected, the smile still intact: “Do I have the ability to convince the umpire?”
That was when the conversation went into bizarre territory: “Oh, so then you were discussing something about the rivers of Bangladesh?”
Even Shakib, veteran of many a cricketing duel on the field over the years, could not hide his utter disbelief.
“Did you discuss something else about the rivers and their role in Bangladesh? What were you talking?”
Shakib was completely taken aback.
“If you could kindly explain…” continued the journalist.
A big sigh from Shakib followed: “Okay, now, you are asking the right questions. So, the umpire called both the captains, telling us what’s the target, what are the playing rules, how many overs remaining, what will be the target.”
“So that’s all. You all accepted it.”
“Yes,” said Shakib, a tinge of disbelief seeping in again.
“Beautiful, thank you,” said the journalist, ending the very bizarre passage. Shakib kept smiling, looking around as the next question came his way.
Props to Shakib for keeping his composure throughout the conversation, even as it meandered like a river through unexpected twists. It just was not a usual day in the office for him.
Bangladesh’s loss in Adelaide severely damaged their chances of advancing through to the semi-finals, even though they are not technically out yet. The much-needed win boosted India’s chances, taking them to the top of the points table. They, too, are not officially through yet.
You can watch the exchange here [from 1:00 onwards]
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