Mashrafe Mortaza refuses to apologise England

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has refused to apologize to the England team. The 2nd ODI between England and Bangladesh took an ugly turn when the players were involved in a verbal exchange. The altercations started when Jos Buttler was dismissed. Apparently, Bangladesh’s celebration did not go down well with England.

The ugly incident took place in the 28th over of England innings. Jos Buttler was the lone ranger for the visitors. He was trapped lbw off the bowling of Taskin Ahmed. The umpire initially ruled it not out. However, three reds in the review saw Buttler walking back to the pavilion. Bangladesh players were seen barging into Buttler in their celebrations. This did not go down well with Buttler, who retaliated back. The umpires had to intervene to ease out the situation.

After the match, Mortaza and Sabbir Rahman were handed a fine of 20 percent of their match fees. England captain Jos Buttler was reprimanded and given an official warning. In addition to the fine and the warning, all the three players were given one demerit point each for their breach of code of conduct.

Speaking to the news reporters at a press conference in Chittagong, Mortaza clarified that they will not apologise. The statement came ahead of the third ODI, that happens to be the series decider. He quoted, “Actually we didn’t do anything wrong so we shouldn’t apologise.”

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Mashrafe Mortaza further clarified that the team celebration was natural. He pointed out that they will not apologize for their celebration and they should not. He added that the match referee was there to take decisions on the same. “We just celebrated what we’ve felt. We don’t have to say sorry for that. Whatever happened, match referee was there (to judge it),” quoted Mashrafe Mortaza.

He further cited that the team is not affected by the incident. He said that the team morale is normal and they are looking forward to the game. “Our team is completely normal and I am hundred per cent sure that my team is not thinking about this,” Mortaza conceded.