I don't have a bad history. It was one mistake, says Tanvir Ahmed after No-ball debacle

The thoroughly entertaining T20I series went down the wire with the winner-gets-all match in the third and the last match and it was bound to have fierce competition. However, it would be remembered for all the wrong reasons after some calamitous umpiring decisions led to a long pause and prolonged discussions between Carlos Brathwaite and the match referee.

After Windies posted a stiff target of 192 runs in the first innings, Bangladesh couldn’t get into the right foot while chasing as they lost Tamim Iqbal cheaply to a run-out. Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar were in the middle with huge responsibilities when the controversy ensued. After Das edged the ball to mid-off in the fourth over, the umpire had adjudged it a no-ball. However, the big screen soon showed that a good part of Oshane Thomas' foot was behind the line.

It wasn’t the first time in the series for Ahmed that evening. Two balls back in the same over, he had wrongly called yet another overstepping of Thomas that had led to a free-hit. In fact, he had previously adjudged a Windies batsman LBW in the second T20I as well, when the ball had a thick inside edge. 

The repetition of such irresponsibility saw Windies skipper calling for a DRS that couldn’t reverse the decision anymore. It was followed by a heated argument between Brathwaite, the third umpire, and the match referee before that decision was also called a free-hit. To add insult to injury, Das smashed the ball for a six fetching seven runs in a ball where he should have been returning to the pavilion. Brathwaite, however, dismissed claims of ‘cheating’ in the press conference.

Tanvir, however, has explained why it is difficult to spot overstepping citing the quick jump of a bowler, and his inexperience in international cricket. 

"In terms of a no-ball, there is always the issue of the foot and the line being close to each other. And if the bowler jumps quickly, there are occasions when it is difficult to spot it. I am new to international cricket, I made a mistake,” said Tanvir to Prothom Alo.

"If you look at my past, I don't have a bad history. It was one mistake. Inshallah, I will come back well. Every person has good days and bad days. Yesterday I had a bad day. The match just ended yesterday. I am not focusing on anything else. I am thinking about my mistake," he added.