‘It was not intentional’ – Najmul Shanto refutes any intentional act by Nasum Ahmed against Virat Kohli during ODI WC 2023 match against India

The Bangladesh cricket team has suffered three losses out of the four games in the ODI World Cup 2023. Notably, the Shakib-Al-Hasan side got only a single win in their opening game against Afghanistan, while they suffered a massive defeat against hosts India in their recent clash. However, Bangladesh stand-in skipper Najmul Shanto has denied the allegations against Nasum Ahmed for his intentional wide-ball delivery to Virat Kohli.

Notably, India’s stalwart Virat Kohli was batting at 97 runs when star spinner Nasum Ahmed delivered a wide ball. Following the same, a plethora of fans and expert’s slammed him as he did intentionally to prevent Virat Kohli’s century-during the play. However, stand-in skipper Najmul Shanto clarified that there was no such plan except to make him out while playing.

“No, no. There was no such plan. It was a normal plan. No bowler had the intention to bowl a wide ball. We tried to play a proper game. It was not intentional,” Najmul Shanto said

The preparation was very good, to be very honest: Najmul Shanto

Meanwhile, the top-order batsman has also revealed the reason for losing their game against Team India. The left-handed batsman feels that Tanzid Hasan and Liton Das could have scored more runs as openers, which can help middle-order batsmen post a challenging total against strong contenders for the trophy. Moreover, the 25-year-old batsman accepted that their middle order faltered from the bat and could not set the tone.

“I would say, for those who are getting set here, if Litton or Tanzid could have played 120-130 run innings, it would have been easier for Mushi (Mushfiqur Rahim), (Towhid) Hridoy, or (Mahmudullah) Riyad. The middle-order didn’t bat well, as well as those who were set (and) couldn’t make runs. The preparation was very good, to be very honest. The place where we were struggling, the top order, it did well,” he added further.

Bangladesh will be next seen in action against South Africa on October 24 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.