“One of our fielders came to me and said, ‘If you appeal now, he will be out, if you are serious’. Then I appealed and the umpire asked me whether I was serious and whether I was going to take it back or not. I said no if it is in the rule if it’s out, I [won’t] take it back,” Shakib said at the post-match presentation after Bangladesh won the contest by four wickets.
“It is in the laws. I don’t know if it is right or wrong. But I felt like I was at war. I had to take decision to make sure my team wins and whatever I had to do, I had to do. Right or wrong – there will be debates. But if it’s in the rules, I don’t mind taking those chances,” said Shakib.
“It is unfortunate that it happened during a crucial time that after the fall of a wicket. Angelo, we expected him to score some runs for us, and it’s disappointing that the umpires couldn’t step in and make good decisions at that time.”
Shakib however was fired up by the incident that took place in the first innings. Chasing Sri Lanka’s 279, the allrounder made 82 off 65 balls and eventually got out to Mathews who gave him a send-off.
“I thought that [incident] helped [to keep me motivated]. We talk about the fight. I am 36, that fight doesn’t come all the time. But today that helped in a way, I won’t deny that,” Shakib said.