Asia Cup T20: Image of Taskin Ahmed holding MS Dhoni's chopped-off head goes viral

A photograph showing Bangladeshi fast bowler Taskin Ahmed carrying the severed head of the Indian limited-overs captain MS Dhoni has gone viral on social media.

Reportedly posted by a Bangladeshi fan, the image has spiced up the upcoming Asia Cup T20 2016 final between India and Bangladesh to be held on March 6 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur.

This isn’t the first time that a Bangladeshi fan has resorted to questionable behaviour on social media to target the Indian Cricket Team.

In 2015, after the Indian batsmen struggled against Mustafizur Rahman, who had made his debut during that series, a Bangladeshi newspaper posted a photo of half-shaved heads of the Indian players, in order to show the after effects of Mustafizur’s ‘cutters’ or slow deliveries.

The rivalry had taken a fierce form when Rohit was given not-out when he was caught off this delivery in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup quarter-final.

The rivalry between India and Bangladesh had taken giant strides after the controversial no-ball decision that was ruled in the favour of Indian opening batsman Rohit Sharma during the quarter-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

Rohit was caught off what some believed to be a legal delivery, whereas the umpires had ruled it as a ‘no-ball’ for being above waist height.

Rohit went on to score a hundred in that game and India defeated Bangladesh to proceed to the semi-final of the World Cup. Some members of the Bangladeshi fraternity, it seems, are still upset with an incident that happened almost a year back.

This image was circulated by a local newspaper after Mustafizur Rahman’s opening burst in international cricket last year.

Thereafter, Bangladesh defeated India 2-1 in a bilateral ODI series at home, wherein Mustafizur Rahman tormented the Indian batsmen with his subtle variations and pace.

Thenceforth, an India-Bangladesh clash has also assumed prime importance amongst the fans on both sides of the border and it’s precisely for that reason that the Asia Cup final is expected to a high octane one.

Credit must also be given to Bangladesh, who have tremendously improved their cricketing standards since the 2015 World Cup, and have beaten three of the top 8 Test playing nations- India, Pakistan, and South Africa- in bilateral ODI series.

It remains to be seen, however, as to how well the Bangladeshis perform outside the realms of their homely comforts, and that test would unfold before them during the upcoming ICC World T20 in India set to begin from March 8, if they qualify for the main tournament.

Bangladesh would be playing in the qualifying round with Netherlands, Ireland, and Oman, with one of the four teams set to make it to the Super 10 stages and clash with the Group B teams, namely India, Pakistan, Australia, and New Zealand.