U-19 World Cup final: Bishan Singh Bedi lashes out at Indian players for ‘most disgraceful’ behaviour
After the ICC Under-19 World Cup final, India and Bangladesh players clashed on the field. Bishan Singh Bedi is disappointed with India's behaviour after losing the final to Bangladesh
FollowMumbai: Former captain Bishan Singh Bedi has lashed out at the India Under-19 team for their “disgusting and most disgraceful” behaviour during the ICC Under-19 World Cup final in Potchefstroom on Sunday (February 9).
In the World Cup title clash in South Africa, India were defeated by Bangladesh. However, after the match, ugly scenes were witnessed with both teams’ players exchanging words and also involved in physical clash.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has punished five players, three (Md Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Rakibul Hasan) from Bangladesh and two (Akash Singh, Ravi Bishnoi) Indians for the incident.
Hridoy has received a sanction of 10 suspension points, which equates to six demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years. Hossain has received a sanction of eight suspension points, which equates to six demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years. Hasan has received a sanction of four suspension points, which equates to five demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years.
Akash has received a sanction of eight suspension points, which equates to six demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years. Bishnoi has received a sanction of five suspension points, which equates to five demerit points.
Former left-arm spinner Bedi questioned the Indian boys, led by Priyam Garg. “Look, what Bangladesh do is their problem, what our boys do is our problem. You could see that there was abusive language used,” Bedi told Mid-day newspaper on Tuesday (February 11).
“You bat, bowl and field badly…happens, but there's no excuse for behaving badly. The behaviour was disgusting and most disgraceful. The innocence of that age was not visible at all,” he added.
The spin legend also questioned the age of the Under-19 players. “India, Pakistan and Bangladesh…all Asian teams which made the semi-finals…you could tell from a country mile that the players were not under-19. Few years ago, Rahul Dravid spoke about the overage issue. What has happened to us? I am very disappointed,” he asked.
After the final, Bangladesh captain Akbar Ali had apologised for his team’s behaviour while India skipper Garg termed the opposition’s reaction as “dirty”.
