India’s under-19 cricket team manager Anil Patel has said that the International Cricket Council has taken a serious view of the ugly scenes in the immediate aftermath of Bangladesh’s World Cup triumph in Potchefstroom with sanctions expected to be announced on Monday.
At the end of a high-octane final, players were seen getting carried away during the celebrations after Bangladesh’s historic three-wicket win over India in the final here on Sunday. While their captain Akbar Ali apologised, his Indian counterpart Priyam Garg said it was dirty from Bangladesh.
“We don’t know what actually happened,” Patel is quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo on Sunday. “Everybody was in a shock, absolutely, but we don’t know what happened exactly. The ICC officials are going to watch the footage of the last few minutes and they are going to let us know,” he said.
READ: The India-Bangladesh U19 World Cup final had it all
With players from both incidents continuously exchanging words during the game, there was evident tension on view with umpires having to intervene repeatedly to calm things down.
As soon as the match ended, it became tense with Bangladeshi players rushing to the ground and displaying aggressive body language. The two teams nearly came to blows before the situation was defused by the coaching staff and on-field officials.
Patel has claimed that match referee Graeme Labrooy met him and expressed regret at what transpired on the field.
“The referee came to me. He was sorry about the incident. He clarified the ICC is going to take very seriously what has happened during the match and the last session. They are going to witness the footage and they will tell us in the morning (Monday),” he is quoted as saying.
(With PTI inputs)