Sri Lankan players celebrate after winning the warm up cricket match against India during the ICC World Twenty20 tournament at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka, yesterday.
SYLHET, Bangladesh: Netherlands cricketer Tim Gruijters has accused team management of cheating by forcing him out on medical grounds so they could bring in Tom Cooper as a last-minute replacement for the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.
“It’s clear that the Dutch coaching staff decided to misuse the rules, hoodwink the ICC, and get Tom Cooper in for me. It’s a disgrace, it’s a cheat, and I would like to state that I do not want to be part of it,” he said in a Youtube video.
The Netherlands cricket board (KNCB) said it had launched an investigation.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) allowed Gruijters to be replaced in the Netherlands squad by Australian-born Cooper earlier this week due to a lower-back injury.
Cooper, whose mother is from the Netherlands, became available for the World T20 when his team South Australia failed to qualify for the Sheffield Shield final after the last stage of round-robin games ended on Friday.
“Fact number one, on Thursday the 13th of March, Tom Cooper became unexpectedly available for the Dutch team after narrowly missing out on the Sheffield Shield final,” Gruijters said in the video. “Tom Cooper is probably the best batsman eligible to play for the Netherlands.
“Fact two, on the same day, some team mates and I had talked about Tom’s availability. We all agreed that no one was injured, so it would be impossible for Tom Cooper to play.
“Fact three, the next morning, the 14th of March, the coaching staff called me to their room. They told me that I would have been in the first eleven had Tom Cooper not been available.
“We need someone to be injured they said, we need you to have a scan so that we can get the ICC’s approval.”
The 22-year-old, who has played five one-day internationals and eight T20s for Netherlands, said he was bullied into having a scan on a long-standing back-injury.
“The scan showed I have a bad back. No surprise there. I have had a bad back for years, just like others have had bad shoulders and bad knees,” he added.
“Like all sportsmen, I have learned to deal with the limitations and the pain. In fact, my back is better than it has been in a while. I think I am in the best form possible for this tournament.”
The KNCB said Gruijters’ version of events differed from that of the team management’s.
“The Board... regrets the controversy which has arisen following the departure of Tim Gruijters from the Dutch squad at the World Twenty20 tournament in Bangladesh.” it said in a statement on its website.
“The account of Tim Gruijters himself regarding the course of events differs from the account of the team management in Bangladesh.
“The KNCB Board has as a result of the current controversy initiated an investigation and shall take evidence from all the relevant parties in order to gain understanding of the course of events.”
The Netherlands eased to a six-wicket win against first-timers United Arab Emirates in the opening round of the World Twenty20 at Sylhet Stadium yesterday.
Opener Stephan Myburgh hit a punishing 36-ball 55 with two sixes and seven boundaries to help the Netherlands overhaul a modest 152-run target with seven balls to spare.
It was a clinical finish by the Netherlands who are vying to progress from Group B for a place in the main rounds.
Six qualifiers along with hosts Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are competing in the first round and winners of each group will then contest the Super-10 round with the top eight Test nations -- Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, England, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka and the West Indies -- from March 21.
The final is on April 6 in Dhaka.
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