5 biggest controversies in Sri Lanka-Bangladesh rivalry

The Sri Lanka-Bangladesh rivalry will have a new chapter added when the two teams clash in the group stage of Asia Cup 2023. Pallekele International Cricket Stadium will play host to the battle between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on Thursday, August 31.

Sri Lanka have dominated this rivalry in the past, but of late, Bangladesh have improved their win-loss record against the islanders. The Tigers won the previous ODI series between the two teams by a 2-1 scoreline. They will aim to defeat Sri Lanka today and avenge their 2022 Asia Cup loss.

Before the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh rivalry entertains the fans once again, here's a look at the top five controversies from previous battles between the two teams. A majority of these moments came in one infamous Nidahas Trophy match.

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#1 Excessive celebration by Bangladesh after a win in Nidahas Trophy 2018

Sri Lanka hosted Bangladesh and India for a tri-nation T20I tournament in 2018, the Nidahas Trophy. Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka in the league stage, eliminating them from the race to the final.

After their nervy win in Colombo, the visitors seemingly broke the dressing room doors at the R Premadasa Stadium while celebrating.

The Tigers celebrated aggressively after winning the game by two wickets and one ball to spare. Their team management reportedly had to pay for the damage done by the players during the celebrations.

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#2 Fight during a Nidahas Trophy 2018 match

During the Nidahas Trophy match between the two teams, Nurul Hasan had a heated exchange with Sri Lankan captain Thisara Perera.

Bangladesh's Mahmudullah was arguing with the umpires over a no-ball decision. Hasan came onto the field with drinks amid the chaos and got involved in a heated chat with Sri Lankan players.

The picture of him pointing a finger angrily at Thisara Perera earned a lot of attention from fans. Hasan was fined 25% of his match fee.

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#3 When Bangladesh players were called back by captain Shakib Al Hasan

There were a lot of controversies in the 2018 Nidahas Trophy match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Apart from the aforementioned two incidents, another controversial incident during the closing moments of the match saw Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan calling his players back.

Shakib got into an argument with reserve umpire Lyndon Hannibal over a no-ball decision. After the umpire did not listen to him, he called Mahmudullah and Rubel Hossain back. The batters half-heartedly came to the boundary line but play was resumed after a while.

Bangladesh eventually won the game and followed it up with some aggressive celebrations.

"I don't want to talk about it, but what happened was that the square-leg umpire called a no-ball and after a discussion they cancelled it," Shakib said after the match. "I didn't think it was the right decision."

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#4 Khaled Mahmud and Dasun Shanaka add another chapter to the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh rivalry

Ahead of the Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh match in Asia Cup 2022, Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka said that Bangladesh would be an easier opponent than Afghanistan because they had only two world-class bowlers. Responding to Shanaka, Bangladesh's team director Khaled Mahmud said:

"Maybe Afghanistan has a better T20 squad, that's why he said that. He said a lot of other things as well, he said we have only 2 (world-class) bowlers or something. I don't see any in Sri Lanka, at least Bangladesh have two."

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh played a thrilling encounter and the former won by two wickets and celebrated with the now infamous 'Naagin Dance'.

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#5 At the 2021 T20 World Cup

Sri Lanka met Bangladesh in the group stage of T20 World Cup 2021 and pacer Lahiru Kumara dismissed Tigers opener Litton Das.

After dismissing Das, Kumara gave him a send-off. The two players were soon involved in a heated exchange and on-field umpires and other players had to calm them down.