Bangladesh team director trolled over 'no world-class bowlers' claim after Sri Lanka's win

Having started the tournament with a crushing loss against Afghanistan, Sri Lanka punched above their weight to go on and win the Asia Cup 2022 title. The Sri Lanka vs Pakistan final match which took place in Dubai on Sunday, September 11 saw Dasun Shanaka's team register 23 run victory over Pakistan. Following Sri Lanka's win, fans flooded social media with messages targetting the Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud following his 'no world-class bowlers' comment during the league stage of the tournament. 

Asia Cup final: Fans take a jibe at Khaled Mahmud following Sri Lanka's victory

After losing the opening match of the Asia Cup 2022 to Afghanistan, Dasun Shanaka, while referring to Mustafizur Rahman and Shakib Al Hasan, was quoted as saying, “Afghanistan has a world-class bowling attack. We know Fizz [Mustafizur Rahman] is a good bowler. Shakib [Al Hasan] is a world-class bowler. But apart from them,there is no world-class bowler in the side. So if we compare with Afghanistan, Bangladesh is an easier opponent."

Reacting to Shanaka's claims, Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud said, “I don't know why Dasun made that comment. Definitely, Afghanistan has a better squad. He said we have only two bowlers in our line-up, but I don't see any bowlers in Sri Lanka. At least Bangladesh has world-class bowlers like Mustafiz and Shakib. They don't even have that. It is not about the words. It is about how you play the game." 

Not only did Sri Lanka go on to beat Bangladesh but also knocked them out of the Asia Cup during group stage in a nail-biting contest. Here's how fans reacted following Sri Lanka's win over Pakistan in the final. 

Asia Cup Final: Bhanuka Rajapaksa dedicates title to people of Sri Lanka 

Bhanuka Rajapaksa played an innings to remember in Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Asia Cup final and helped his team strive to glory on Sunday. The Asia Cup title win comes in the backdrop of the country's worst economic crisis coupled with major political unrest. 

"We always wanted to show the world - a couple of decades back, we had aggression in our side, and we wanted to create those moments (again) as a unit. Looking forward, we want to keep up this momentum ahead of the World Cup. With the crisis happening back home, this is a tough time for all the Sri Lankans, but hope we brought some smiles on the faces of our people. This is to the whole nation; they were waiting for this for so long," Rajapaksa was quoted as saying during the post-match press conference.