Brawl episode is over, we realised our mistakes: Akbar
The skipper thinks it was all fueled by the heat of the moment, and there is no enmity between the players of the two teams outside the ground.
Bangladesh defeated India in Sunday's final of the Under 19 World Cup by three wickets to be crowned the new champions.
The aggression in the final, however, went beyond the game. Players from both sides got into a brawl and Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan, were all found guilty of a Level 3 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct for Bangladesh, while Indians Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi were also sanctioned.
All five players have accepted the sanctions proposed by the U-19 World Cup match referee Graeme Labrooy.
Akbar Ali also accepts the punishment given by the ICC. The skipper told The Business Standard that it was all fueled by the heat of the moment, and there is no enmity between the players of the two teams outside the ground.
"We made mistakes so did India. This episode is over. Everyone accepted their punishment. We shook hands on the ground. Both teams stayed in the same hotel. We realised that it was due to a spark of emotions. But these things happen in the field.
The world champions return home tomorrow. For a team, that is staying in South Africa for over a month, the return flight could not have come earlier.
Akbar was happy that the long tour finally is coming to an end.
"We stayed at our hotel rooms for the last two days, as there was no game or training. These two days before returning now feels really long" added Akbar.