Manan Shah returns to Washington...and brings more controversy
Manan Shah made a quiet return to Washington today after being the center of controversy last week in a public duel with Captain Staple. Shah apologized to Staple and team and was welcomed back with a warning just before today's game.
His bowling was tidy, but largely unthreatening, and Shah ended up with nine overs for 14 runs and zero wickets. The day was not without controversy however, as when leaving the field with his team, a spectator claims Shah made an offensive gesture toward him. Henderwick - a journalist for the Washington Post who had written a scathing article criticizing Shah for his behavior last week - claims Shah just looked at him, mouthed some words and made the gesture as he was making his way to the dressing room. The gesture was not caught on camera, and team has declined to comment pending the result of an internal investigations.
Sources close to the team say that Shah was livid after reading the article, and that he believes Henderson has no journalistic integrity publishing such an article with his son being the likely replacement for Shah.
Shah vehemently denied those claims and added, "I have had enough media controversy. I just want to play cricket and focus only on that. Some people have already made their mind up about me, and I'm just going to keep taking wickets and stay quiet off the field."
Whether true or not, it is clear that fans are quickly losing patience. "Get rid of him, he has no integrity and is only a cancer in the locker room", says Aseem when asked outside the stadium. "I've never heard of someone with as much controversy, and so little talent. Why is he even on the team?", said a fellow player from another team, who wished to remain anonymous.
Stay tuned for further updates....