Published on 12:00 AM, December 17, 2022

Scaloni irked by Messi and Co watching Tigers play India

It seems that Lionel Messi's quest for the elusive World Cup title is going to be a much tougher task than expected and, quite surprisingly, the Bangladesh cricket team is playing a bigger role in this than France, their opponent in the FIFA World Cup final on Sunday. 

Rumours surfaced that several of their players watched the opening day of the Chattogram Test on Wednesday after partying all night following their semifinal victory over Croatia.

This came after Bangladesh's cricketers had watched the Argentina-Croatia clash till 3:00am on Wednesday morning, despite their Test against India starting in a matter of hours.

The Argentina-Bangladesh love affair through football is fast becoming a better love story than Twilight. It was evident when Argentine channels were seen broadcast news of Bangladesh's ODI wins over India after the die-hard Albiceleste football fans in Bangladesh caught the eye of global mainstream media during the Qatar World Cup.

According to a super reliable source, who goes by the alias "trust me bro", several Argentina players whose names start with 'M' have taken a liking to cricket.

They say that instead of watching the same old footage of Maradona lifting the 1986 trophy, cricket is helping to ease the pressure involving a big game such as the World Cup final.

Asked if his players' new hobby was a cause for concern, the Argentina head coach did not radiate his characteristic calm demeanour in a pre-match press conference on Friday.

"You have to sleep and rest properly. This is very simple! You can't just wake up at 5:00am and watch Bangladesh play Test cricket when you have to prepare for a World Cup final," said Lionel Scaloni, apparently blushing with suppressed anger.

The Argentina coach said he is well aware that India-Bangladesh bilateral Test series does not happen too often, but reminded that Argentina have only made it to six finals in 90 odd years.

"I think this is stupidity. If they keep doing it [watching Chattogram Test], I'll be very disappointed," said the coach who ended up hoping that India would be able to wrap the game up as early as possible. He also requested the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to consider not hosting matches in the future whenever Argentina play a major tournament.