Bangladesh fans demonstrate against ICC ban of Taskin, Sunny from World Twenty20

Angry cricket fans have come out on the Dhaka streets to protest against the ICC’s decision to bar bowlers Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny after finding their bowling actions illegal.

A protest march was taken out and a human chain formed at the Dhaka University under the banner of Bangladesh Cricket Fans Unity on Sunday.

The ICC on Saturday suspended spinner Sunny and pacer Taskin from playing in international matches, dealing a heavy blow to the Tigers’ World Twenty20 campaign ahead of their Super 10 match against Australia.

An analysis of Sunny's action revealed an elbow extension in excess of the permissible 15 degree level of tolerance in majority of his deliveries, while not all of Taskin’s deliveries were legal, the ICC said in a media statement.

The fans shouted slogan – ‘If Taskin, Sunny are banned, why not Ashwin and Bumrah?’

Both spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and medium pacer Jasprit Singh Bumrah are playing for India in the World Twenty20.

People gathered in front of the National Museum at Shahbagh to stage a human-chain protest against the decision.

Some of the placards and festoons they carried read: ‘Shame on you, ICC! Your action is illegal. We want Taskin and Sunny back’, ‘No one will be able to suppress us’, and ‘Save cricket from ICC’.

Bangladesh Cricket Fans Unity Convenor Sanjiban Chakrabarty Sudip said, “We held human-chain protest on Mar 20 last year against another illegal decision against Bangladesh in the World Cup quarterfinals.

“We’re protesting today against a similar conspiracy.”

“The umpire had reported Taskin’s bowling action in the match against the Netherlands. But he did not mention what kind deliveries raised his suspicion.”

Sudip said the ICC banned Taskin when it found his deliveries in that game illegal after the assessment in Chennai. “But Taskin did not bowl a single bouncer in that match.”

“According to the ICC rules, a bowler must be warned in case of suspicion over any of his deliveries, barring stock deliveries. But we wonder why the ICC banned Taskin,” he added.

Captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza on Sunday told a media briefing they had decided to go along with the ICC process.

"There is a process, and we will follow that. Whatever we want to say, we will say it to the BCB. The board will decide what to do, and talk to the ICC or whoever (else)," he said.

"But we still believe that Taskin at least is all right, and that Taskin will be able to bowl. Now we will go through the processes and the systems that we have."

Earlier in the day, the Bangladesh Cricket Board appealed against the ban on Taskin, asking the ICC to let the bowler play in the World Twenty20.

BCB President Nazmul Hassan said he was confident that Taskin will be playing the remaining matches.

The Tigers will take on Australia at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday in their second Super 10 match.

They did practice on Sunday but the ban overshadowed their preparations.

The fans on Sunday alleged that ‘unjust’ decisions have been imposed on Bangladesh ‘as part of a conspiracy’ to destroy the country’s cricket.

The fans later took out a protest march and burnt an effigy of the ICC.

They also announced a protest rally at the same place at 5:30pm on Monday.