Rohit Paudel backs down as he reveals explosive details of on-field fight with Tanzim Hasan Sakib

Tensions flared on the field during the 37th match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024, as Bangladesh's rising star Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Nepal's captain Rohit Paudel found themselves in a heated exchange at Kingstown on Monday, June 17.

The confrontation unfolded amidst the scorching heat after Tanzim, who was running high on confidence after taking early wickets of Anil Sah and Kushal Bhurtel, bowled a probing good-length delivery outside off-stump to Paudel, who defended it cautiously to end the third over.

Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Rohit Paudel were involved in a heated exchange during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 match

However, instead of returning to his fielding position, Tanzim engaged in a menacing staredown with Paudel. The situation quickly escalated as the two players came scarily close, exchanging heated words, resulting in Bangladesh’s Litton Das and Nepal’s Aasif Sheikh stepping in to separate the two players.

On-field umpires Sam Nogajski and Ahsan Raza then defused the tension on the pitch. The drama didn't end there. Tanzim, clearly fired up by the exchange, returned in the fifth over and delivered a half-tracker that Paudel, instead of dispatching to the boundary, hit untimely straight to Rishad Hossain at the backward point.

After his wicket, Paudel left the field visibly frustrated. Tanzim's aggression and ability to back it up with crucial wickets helped the Bangladesh cricket team beat Nepal by 21 runs in their group match on Monday. Tanzim was instrumental in Bangladesh's 21-run victory, taking 4 wickets for just 7 runs in his 4 overs, effectively dismantling Nepal's top order, to win the Player of the Match award for his match-winning performance.

After the match, Nepal captain Rohit Paudel addressed his on-field altercation with Hasan, sharing insights about the incident. He praised Tanzim for his exceptional bowling, acknowledging that the pacer outplayed Nepal with the new ball by consistently hitting the right areas.

There's nothing between us: Rohit Paudel on heated clash with Tanzim Hasan Sakib

Paudel also mentioned that there were no personal issues between him and Tanzim. He explained that Tanzim tried to provoke him by challenging him to take on his bowling. Paudel responded by telling Tanzim to focus on his bowling. He also blamed his batters for the defeat against the Tigers.

Rohit Paudel said at the post-match press conference: “No, I think Tanzim bowled really well. Especially he, I would say he outplayed us with the new ball. He bowled really well because the wicket was very challenging. And I think he bowled in right areas. And he asked difficult questions to us. So, there's nothing between us. Just he came and he told me to hit. And I said, go and bowl. Nothing else.”

Paudel signed off by saying, “We bowled really well throughout the tournament and I think as a batting unit we didn't step up. Especially I think Bangladesh bowled really well and I think as a batting unit we batted really poor. There's no shame to accept that and as a top order batsman we could have taken that responsibility and scored that 107 runs. I think as a batting unit we failed.”