Off-spinner Jannatul Ferdus Sumona鈥檚 refusal and inability to bowl against left-handed batters was the reason behind her omission from the Bangladesh squad for the forthcoming ICC Women鈥檚 World Cup, said head coach Sarwar Imran on Monday.听
However, Sumona denied the claims, stating that there were greater reasons behind her decision. She also said that the coach's comments were unfair and disrespectful.听
Sumona, the highest wicket taker for Bangladesh in the qualifier, was dropped from the World Cup squad in a surprising call made by the BCB last month.Seventeen-year-old off-spinner Nishita Akter Nishi got the nod ahead of her.
When asked about the decision in the press conference at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium ahead of the team鈥檚 departure for the marquee event, Sarwar was rather straightforward.听
鈥楽he refused to bowl against a lefty batter from Pakistan [in the Qualifier]. She can鈥檛 bowl against left-handed batters even in training. Our main matches are against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. We need an off-spinner who can bowl against left-handers,鈥� said Sarwar.
鈥榃e have picked an off-spinner whose accuracy and thinking are much better. That is why Sumona got dropped. She was dropped because she couldn鈥檛 fulfil the team鈥檚 demand, not because of her performance,鈥� he added.听
Captain Nigar Sultana Joty also said that they picked Nishita over Sumona because she seemed a better choice.听
However, Sumona had different stories to tell.听
鈥業 wasn鈥檛 feeling in control on that particular day. I was sick and I had to take antibiotics before the match,鈥� Sumona told 抖阴精品.
鈥楨ven in the last over of my last spell, I gave away around 6-7 runs [10 runs]. That鈥檚 why I told the captain that I didn鈥檛 want to when she asked me to bowl the 35th over.听
'But you need to ask the question why I refused, as it鈥檚 not normal for a bowler to do so even after getting hit for 36 runs.
鈥業t was our last game, and net run rate was crucial. The target was to make the game a bit lengthy. They needed like 18 runs [21 runs] around that point.听
'I could bowl. I might have given 10鈥�15 runs. I might have bowled well. That doesn鈥檛 matter. But I was not feeling in control. What I did was for the betterment of the team.听
'The game was stretched to the 40th over. We eventually qualified for a slightly better [0.013] net run rate. I thought of my team; I sacrificed myself. And now this is the reward I am getting? This is not fair at all.
鈥楾hey can drop me anytime. But these types of allegations aren鈥檛 fair, especially when you helped your team to qualify,鈥� she added.听
Sumona also denied the claims made by the coach that she couldn鈥檛 bowl against left-handers in the training.听
Sumona said that one time she refused because she had bowled around 60-70 balls already in that session. On another occasion, the head coach didn鈥檛 let her bowl, saying, 鈥榊ou don鈥檛 want to bowl at other times. So you won鈥檛 be bowling today. Leave.鈥櫶�
鈥楾hey didn鈥檛 say anything like that, that I couldn鈥檛 bowl against left-handers. The coach mentioned it once or twice, but I thought he was joking. As I have a different relation [friendly relation] with him.
鈥業 can understand; you may have a 50-50 chance sometimes in terms of getting selected. But I am hurt hearing these comments. When a girl thinks about her team, and then she has to hear this. There is Allah upon us,鈥� she said.听
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