Now Theekshana takes a dig at wounded Tigers

The verbal battle between the players and team management members of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have continued even after their Asia Cup encounter, with Lankan cricketer Maheesh Theekshana the latest to speak out. 

"No need to have world class players, when you have 11 brothers," Theekshana tweeted on Friday with a collage of pictures of their winning moments from their two-wicket victory against Bangladesh in Dubai yesterday.

The win saw hosts Sri Lanka knock Bangladesh out of the continental tournament.  

The war or words began when Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka said 'Bangladesh do not have any world-class bowlers other than Shakib [Al Hasan] and Mustafizur [Rahman]' following the Lankans' eight-wicket loss against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup opener last Saturday.

No need to have world class players, when you have 11 brothers pic.twitter.com/H0rYESlF6i; Maheesh Theekshana (@maheesht61) September 2, 2022

Replying to Shanaka, Bangladesh all-rounder Mehedi Hasan Miraz said: "Which side is better will be proven on the field." 

Later on, Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud Sujon went on to say that 'Sri Lanka do not have bowlers of Shakib and Mustafizur's quality', sparking the off-field battle further just before the much-anticipated game between the two sides. 

Sujon's words also made former Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene join the verbal battle. He took to Twitter and posted the following on Thursday, with aforementioned Sujon's words embedded:  

"Looks like it's time for @Official SLC bowlers to show the class and batters to show who they are on the field #AsiaCup2022," Jayawardene tweeted.

After the game, in which the Lankans had the last laugh, Sri Lanka batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa said that they had 'planned to beat Bangladesh by hook or by crook'. Rajapaksa, however, extended an olive branch, saying that the comments from Shanaka that had instigated the war of words was not a jibe at the Bangladesh side. 

"The statement [regarding Bangladesh] that the captain made, I don't think he meant any wrong. Of course, when you compare the (dangerous) Afghanistan bowlers, what we meant was we had a slight advantage facing the Bangladeshi bowlers," Rajapaksa said.