A rivalry without a cause

Nazmul Islam Apu, making his Twenty20 International debut for Bangladesh against Sri Lanka on February 15, 2018, brought out his signature 'Nagin Dance' celebration after picking up a wicket.

It wasn't an attempt to mock the batsman or Sri Lanka as a team as it was a something he had been doing in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) since 2016.

But that didn't matter as this silly, off-handed wicket celebration ended up being the spark that ignited a feisty and perhaps the most unique rivalry in cricket right now.

A rivalry without ulterior cause

The brewing rivalry between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is unique as unlike other perennial rivalries in cricket— like India-Pakistan and Australia-England – there are no underlying issues between the two nations fueling the feud.

India and Pakistan have been at each other's throat since 1947, when the British left the Indian sub-continent after dividing it into two nations on the basis of religion.

So, when India and Pakistan face each other in the cricket field, in turns into a shadow war, no matter how much the players of both teams deny it.

In the case of the Australia-England rivalry, the colonial past of the two nations, with the British being the rulers and the Aussies being the oppressed, was its central point when it began around 150 years ago.

But in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka's case, the animosity is solely based on cricket, there are no added layers.

Based on stats, Sri Lanka area a far superior team than Bangladesh as while the islanders have won the ODI and T20 World Cup once and the Asia Cup six times, the Tigers are still searching for their first major trophy in men's cricket.

In head-to-head contests, Bangladesh are trailing Sri Lanka in every format, as even in ODIs, Bangladesh's strongest format, the Tigers' win-loss ratio against Sri Lanka is quite poor with 10 wins against 42 defeats.

But stats don't reveal the complete picture. Since the mid-2010s, the difference in quality between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is getting slimmer.

Since 2015, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have played 17 ODIs, with the Tigers winning six of them, Sri Lanka winning 10 and one ending in a no result.

While Sri Lanka are still leading Bangladesh in the win-loss column, the Tigers are no longer the whipping boys of the Lankans like they once were, a fact that most likely doesn't sit well with the former world champions.

With the rise of the Tigers and the slide of the Lions, all that was needed was one incident to light the fire. And the incident that set the butterfly effect into motion was one silly celebration.

The tale of the serpent

Sri Lanka's Danushka Gunathilaka, one of Apu's victims in his T20I debut, brought out the 'Nagin Dance' celebration after taking a wicket in the second T20, seemingly mocking Apu.

The matter could've ended there but thanks to Mushfiqur Rahim, the saga continued.

Later that year, in the tri-nation Nidahas Tournament between hosts Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India, Mushfiqur did the 'Nagin Dance' right after shepherding Bangladesh to victory in a high-scoring match, which the Sri Lankan players and the local fans didn't appreciate.

Then came the virtual knockout match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, which almost ended in Bangladesh forfeiting after skipper Shakib Al Hasan called back his batters following the on-field umpire not calling a wide ball in the final over.

But better sense prevailed and Mahmudullah smashed 12 off three balls to pull off one of the most memorable T20I victories for Bangladesh. The entire Bangladesh team and support staff then celebrated that win with the 'Nagin Dance' celebration at the centre of the pitch.

In the final, the capacity crowd at the stadium was on India's side and they burst into wild celebrations when Bangladesh suffered a heart-breaking defeat in the last ball.

Since the Nidahas Trophy, whenever Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have faced off the 'Nagin Dance' celebration has come up, becoming synonymous to the rivalry.

But now, it seems like 'Nagin Dance' will have to step aside for the 'timed-out' celebration.

No 'Time out' in Bangladesh-Sri Lanka rivalry

Bangladesh's campaign in the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup was mostly a forgettable one, with the team losing seven off their nine matches, which included a defeat to the Netherlands.

But amidst the mediocrity and the drear defeats, there was one incident that became one of the biggest talking points of the tournament.

In the match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Angelo Mathews was given 'Timed Out' for not being ready to face the ball three minutes after the fall of a wicket, becoming the first batter to get out this way in international cricket.

Generally, opposition captains don't appeal to the umpire if the batters go over time, but the Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan didn't adhere to this courtesy and appealed for the wicket, to the utter disbelief of Mathews.

Read more

Mathews gets timed out: How it happened

Mathews got some retribution when he dismissed Shakib and celebrated by pointing at the invisible wristwatch on his wrist.

Mathews laid in on the Bangladesh team for going through with that dismissal after the match, which Bangladesh had won while Shakib said he had no regrets as he was well within the rules to appeal.

The Sri Lankan cricket fans were as enraged as Mathews and with it, the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka rivalry got reinvigorated.

Shakib is not part of the Bangladesh squad in the ongoing series, but that didn't keep the 'Timed-Out' celebration out of the picture for too long.

Bangladesh's Shoriful Islam was the first to whip out the celebration after taking a wicket in the first T20.

But it was the Sri Lankan players who had the last laugh, when they celebrated with the trophy after winning the series 2-1, with all of them pointing at the wrist together, just like Mathews did in the World Cup.

Photo: Firoz Ahmed

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto didn't appreciate the gesture, asking Sri Lanka to move on from the incident but from the looks of it, both sides are unlikely to move on anytime soon.

This rivalry between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka could be called vain, superficial or even ridiculous as it's not based on some deep-rooted animosity between the two countries.

But just because there's no spite between the countries, doesn't make the on-field rivalry any less feisty.

In an interesting side note, Apu, the left-arm spinner whose 'Nagin Dance' started all the hoopla, hasn't featured for the Tigers in any format since 2018.

But even if he doesn't play another match for Bangladesh, he has carved out a place for himself in international cricket as the person who inadvertently ignited a new rivalry.