Before the toss of the third Twenty20 between Bangladesh and Ireland, the Tigers skipper Shakib Al Hasan was presented with a very special gift.
The name of the gift bearer was Andrew Leonard, an Irish commentator who is part of the broadcast team of the ongoing Bangladesh-Ireland series.
But the gift wasn’t from him. It was from two individuals from a far away country in South America, with whom Bangladesh has formed a unique bond through their mutual love for Messi and the World Cup winning Argentina football team.
The names of the gift givers are Hernan Fennel and Alison Stocks, the captain of Argentina’s men’s and women’s cricket team respectively.
Leonard, who was a commentator at the ICC Americas Qualifiers in Buenos Aires, brought the jersey to Bangladesh on behalf of the Argentina cricket team.
On Friday, Andrew finally presented the jersey to Shakib along with a couple of special video messages from Fennel and Stocks.
“Hey Shakib, I’m Hernan Fennel, captain of Argentina. Thank you very much for your support in the last football World Cup. Hopefully, you guys do okay. This jersey is a token of our appreciation. Thank you very much,” the Argentina men’s team captain said in the clip.
“Shakib, how are you? My name is Alison Stocks. I’m the Argentina national team captain. I know you have been given a present. I really hope you like it and enjoy it. I know how Bangladesh supported Argentina in the soccer World Cup. In the same way, we support you and your cricket. Thank you and I wish you the best of luck in your series against Ireland,” said the women’s team captain.
Although Argentina are better known for football, cricket has been played in the country for well over a century.
In fact, Argentina and Bangladesh have faced off multiple times on the cricket field in ICC Trophy tournaments in the 80s and 90s.