There could not have been a greater irony in the manner in which the Bangladesh players behaved.
The multiple unruly incidents during the final over of the virtual semifinal between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday night did not make for a pleasant sight.
There could not have been a greater irony in the manner in which the Bangladesh players behaved.
Their head coach, though on an interim basis, is Courtney Walsh. Walsh, the legendary West Indies paceman, has been the epitome of the manner in which the sport has to be played.
Never once was Walsh known to have lost his cool even in the most trying of circumstances in his glittering career. The 55-year-old is still famous for the sportsman spirit he displayed during the 1987 Reliance World Cup when he stopped in his bowling run up in the final over and warned Pakistan No. 11 Saleem Jaffer for repeatedly backing up too far.
The scene at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore was as electrifying as the one at Premadasa on Friday night. West Indies needed to win to enter the semifinal and Walsh was within his right to Mankad out Jaffer and guide his team to the last four. But, he did not.
The thorough gentleman that Walsh is let the sportsman spirit get the better of him. His act may have cost West Indies a semifinal spot as Pakistan clinched the thriller by one wicket, but the Jamaican won the hearts of not just the Pakistanis but all the fans the world over. Walsh even got the Sportsman Spirit award for his gentlemanly gesture.
Bangladesh, on Friday, may well have taken a leaf out of Walsh, who came out on the ground to appeal to his players to stay calm after the thrilling win even as the two teams were busy arguing.
There was another irony in the entire episode, though.
With Shakib calling his players off the field, there was another such incident involved with another legend who was at the stadium, though not with the teams: legendary India opener and captain Sunil Gavaskar.
Gavaskar called his opening partner off the field Chetan Chauhan during a Test in Melbourne in 1980-81 after he was given leg before wicket against pacer Dennis Lillee.
Gavaskar thought he had nicked the ball on to the pad and was involved in an argument with the Australian players before, in a swift action, he summoned Chauhan, even pushing him, to walk back to the pavilion with him.
However, better sense prevailed and the Indian team manager Wing Commander Shahid Durrani stopped Chauhan at the boundary line and asked him to return to the crease with the next batsman Dilip Vengsarkar.
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 "Courtney Walsh-AFP")
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