Mehidy Hasan Miraz set the tone with a smile as he took his seat in the press conference room on Tuesday.
“How was the question, brother? Not a good one?” he asked journalists — a remark clearly directed at his opposite number, Najmul Hossain Shanto.
The Odommo captain wanted to revisit Shanto’s pre-match comment, in which he had jokingly labelled Miraz’s side a “committee team”.
Shanto had come to the press conference after watching his Aporajeyo side lose despite posting 166 runs. Miraz later joined the briefing alongside player of the match Naim Sheikh and, noticing that Shanto was still fielding questions, sat among the reporters before raising the issue himself.
“Before the match you said we were a committee team,” Miraz said with a grin. “Can you explain why?”
Taken on by a national team-mate, close friend and the ODI captain, Shanto responded in equally playful fashion.
“You actually came a bit late — I already answered this,” Shanto said. “But I’ll say it again. Everything yesterday was just for fun. I still believe you are a committee team, though it was meant jokingly. Committee teams do get a little advantage. What advantage? I won’t say. But it was good fun, I think.”
The banter had its roots in Monday’s joint press conference at the ‘Home of Cricket’, where both captains appeared together ahead of the exhibition match. Speaking light-heartedly, Shanto had joked that there would be “no mercy” and that all preparation was happening “through words rather than practice”.
Several national team players who were initially expected to turn out for Shanto’s side later withdrew due to personal reasons. Shanto used that situation to poke fun at Miraz’s team by calling them a “committee team” — a familiar phrase in local cricket used for sides associated with tournament organisers. With the match arranged by CWAB and Miraz serving as an executive member of the cricketers’ association, the joke carried added bite.
Asked how it felt to beat Shanto’s side, Miraz struck a balance between humour and perspective.
“I’ve always said that what matters is performing on the field, not talking,” he said. “If we perform, everyone can see who beat whom. It was all fun — and what he said was meant in that same spirit.”
Despite the jokes, both teams competed seriously on the field. Miraz acknowledged that competitive edge while thanking those involved in staging the match.
“You could see that both teams played with intensity and the environment was excellent,” he said. “I want to thank CWAB, our president Mithun bhai, Isam bhai and everyone who worked hard behind the scenes. The cricket board helped us, the media supported us, and we are grateful to everyone who came and made this match special.”
